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| Attack Raises Fears of Muslim-Led Insurgency in Philippines | Attack Raises Fears of Muslim-Led Insurgency in Philippines |
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| MANILA — Two small, ultraviolent rebel groups joined forces to fight government troops Thursday morning in the southern Philippines, a clash that occurred on an island adjacent to the city where several hundred rebels are in a standoff with the Philippine military. | |
| The violence raised fears about a potential widening of the insurgent threat in the area, where the government has for decades been struggling to contain attacks by Muslim-led groups. | The violence raised fears about a potential widening of the insurgent threat in the area, where the government has for decades been struggling to contain attacks by Muslim-led groups. |
| Three soldiers were wounded in Thursday’s firefight, which occurred at 9:30 a.m. in the village of Lamitan on the restive southern Philippine island of Basilan, according to a statement from the Philippine military. Basilan government officials told a local radio station that five people from the area were missing after the attack. | Three soldiers were wounded in Thursday’s firefight, which occurred at 9:30 a.m. in the village of Lamitan on the restive southern Philippine island of Basilan, according to a statement from the Philippine military. Basilan government officials told a local radio station that five people from the area were missing after the attack. |
| The attack involved combined forces of the Abu Sayyaf Group, which has undertaken kidnappings and beheadings in the area for more than a decade, and the recently formed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a violent offshoot of a larger rebel group. | The attack involved combined forces of the Abu Sayyaf Group, which has undertaken kidnappings and beheadings in the area for more than a decade, and the recently formed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a violent offshoot of a larger rebel group. |
| Col. Rodrigo Gregorio, a military spokesman in the area, said by telephone that the attack did not appear to be a widening of the conflict in nearby Zamboanga City, where a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front has been holding dozens of hostages, virtually paralyzing the important trading area. | Col. Rodrigo Gregorio, a military spokesman in the area, said by telephone that the attack did not appear to be a widening of the conflict in nearby Zamboanga City, where a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front has been holding dozens of hostages, virtually paralyzing the important trading area. |
| “There is no connection to the situation in Zamboanga City,” he said, adding that the Abu Sayyaf are active on Basilan island and periodically stage attacks. | “There is no connection to the situation in Zamboanga City,” he said, adding that the Abu Sayyaf are active on Basilan island and periodically stage attacks. |
| It was not immediately clear how many rebels had been killed in the firefight, Colonel Gregorio said. | It was not immediately clear how many rebels had been killed in the firefight, Colonel Gregorio said. |
| “We are in hot pursuit of them now,” he said by phone on Thursday afternoon. | “We are in hot pursuit of them now,” he said by phone on Thursday afternoon. |
| The Moro National Liberation Front signed a peace deal with the Philippine government in 1996 but its leaders were angered when a separate agreement was forged with the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front last year that some leaders said would encroach on the original deal. | The Moro National Liberation Front signed a peace deal with the Philippine government in 1996 but its leaders were angered when a separate agreement was forged with the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front last year that some leaders said would encroach on the original deal. |
| The Abu Sayyaf Group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom fighters did not participate in peace talks and advocate an armed struggle to establish an Islamic state in the southern Philippines. Security analysts say the Abu Sayyaf has lost much of its ideological underpinnings and operates primarily as a kidnap-for-ransom gang. | The Abu Sayyaf Group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom fighters did not participate in peace talks and advocate an armed struggle to establish an Islamic state in the southern Philippines. Security analysts say the Abu Sayyaf has lost much of its ideological underpinnings and operates primarily as a kidnap-for-ransom gang. |