[A-List] Philippines: the blowback continues

["Keaney Michael" <Michael.Keaney@xxxxxx>]

American soldier killed in Filipino nail bomb attack
By Rupert Cornwell
The Independent, 03 October 2002

A master sergeant in the US army and another person were killed and 20
others, including another American, injured when a nail bomb exploded
outside a restaurant frequented by military personnel in the largely
Muslim southern Philippines.

In Washington, officials said there was no immediate word on those
responsible. The restaurant is in Zamboanga, the base city where US
troops are stationed. They helped in operations this year against the
local Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which is linked with Osama bin Laden's
al-Qa'ida group that made the September attacks on America.

That six-month offensive, focused on the rebel stronghold of Basilan
island, was widely hailed as a success when it was wrapped up in July.
But in recent days, several isolated attacks have been made, heightening
concerns that the Abu Sayyaf presence in the southern Philippines has
not been eradicated.

"We're not sure yet, but we believe it's the handiwork of terrorists,"
Colonel Alexander Yapching, a Filipino army spokesman told reporters. He
said the bomb had been placed on a motorcyle which was driven to the
restaurant and left parked in front.

The US serviceman, whose name was not disclosed, died of his wounds as
he was being taken to a military hospital at Camp Navarro, the
headquarters of the Filipino Southern Command in Zamboanga.

About 250 soldiers are based at Zamboanga, the remnant of the US force,
1,200 strong at its maximum, that aided the offensive. A total 272
American troops remain in the Philippines, a Pentagon spokesman said
last night. Communist rebels said yesterday that they intended to
continue hitting military sites and police camps, but denied they were
planning to attack oil depots, shopping malls and other civilian
installations.

The bombing was done in the evening, amid heavy security, as the city
was preparing for a Christian festival in 10 days. The surrounding area
was cordoned off and an extra guard force was posted at the gate to Camp
Navarro.

A suspected al-Qa'ida member in US custody is said to have told
interrogators early last month that the group and its allies in Abu
Sayyaf were planning attacks on unspecified targets in the Philippines.

US military backing helped government forces inflict heavy damage on Abu
Sayyaf on Basilan island, among a series of semi-covert operations
mounted as the war on terrorism moved beyond Afghan-istan, to Yemen, the
former soviet republic of Georgia and South East Asia.

But last month, the government said it was sending reinforcements to a
second nearby island, Sulu, to wipe out an Abu Sayyaf faction there. In
a year-long spate of kidnapping and violence aimed largely at
foreigners, the rebel group seized 102 hostages, including three
Americans.

It continues to hold seven hostages on a third island, Jolo. They
include three Indonesian seamen, abducted from a tugboat in June, and
four women from the Philippines who are Christian evangelists, kidnapped
in August.