Troops Placed On High Alert In Southern
Philippines
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines
(AP)--Government troops were placed on high alert and tight security was ordered around
military camps in the southern Philippines for possible Muslim rebel attacks during the
holy month of Ramadan, the military said Monday.
Military intelligence reports
indicated the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the extremist Abu Sayyaf group
plan attacks against government and civilian targets, said Col. Hilario Atendido,
spokesman for the military's Southern Command.
The alert comes as Muslims
began observing the holy month of Ramadan. Rebels have been known to stage attacks during
Ramadan, Atendido said.
The Southern Command
headquarters in Zamboanga, about 530 miles south of Manila, has been on red alert since
Sunday. Helmeted soldiers thoroughly search vehicles going into the camp for weapons and
explosives, Atendido said.
On Saturday, troops retook a
major Muslim rebel camp after several days of fighting, including heavy bombardment by
howitzer cannons, that left at least 10 MILF rebels dead, the military said.
Camp Bushra, located in the
hinterlands of Butig town in Lanao del Sur province, was the MILF's main training ground
until it was first overrun by the military in late May during a government offensive
against guerrilla camps in the southern Mindanao region.
The MILF then attempted to
re-establish smaller camps in the area, the military said.
The MILF is the larger of two
groups fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.
The more radical Abu Sayyaf is
holding an American and a Filipino hostage on southern Jolo island. The military regards
it as a bandit group.
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