Severed heads of 7 Christians delivered to Philippines military
Pastor Dale Morgan
Friday April 20, 1:02 PM
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Severed heads of 7 Christians delivered to Philippines military*
Al-Qaeda-linked extremists ordered civilians to deliver the severed
heads of seven Christians to military outposts in the southern
Philippine island of Jolo, the army said Friday.
The six road workers and a fisherman were kidnapped in separate
incidents Monday by the Abu Sayyaf extremist group amid a massive
military operation against the Muslim movement.
On Thursday afternoon, the driver of a commuter minibus was flagged down
and ordered to deliver a sack containing two heads to a military outpost
in Parang town.
A few hours later the other five heads turned up at an outpost in
Indanan, said regional military spokesman Major Eugene Batara, after
being delivered by local residents in another sack.
"We don't know where the bodies are but the operations against the Abu
Sayyaf will continue," Batara said.
Military officials had earlier indicated that soldiers had found the
heads of the kidnapped men in the jungles of Jolo.
Abu Sayyaf commander Al Bader Parad, who seized the seven men, had
earlier demanded a ransom of five million pesos (105,000 dollars) for
the hostages but the local government had said it could not pay it.
Parad is leader of one faction of the Abu Sayyaf and is known to be
active in the vicinity of the towns of Parang and Talipao.
More than 8,000 troops are on the island with orders from President
Gloria Arroyo to crush the Abu Sayyaf.
The group has been blamed for a series of bomb attacks in the
Philippines in recent years as well as high-profile kidnappings of
Christians, foreigners and missionaries.
It is also sheltering two members of the Jemaah Islamiyah who were
allegedly involved in the deadly 2002 Bali bombings which left more than
200 dead.
Intelligence officials say the Abu Sayyaf had contacts with the Al-Qaeda
network of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Troops in Jolo have recently had to deal with another threat from
renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) after an
MNLF commander Habier Malik shelled a Marine camp, killing two Marines
and a civilian.
However Major General Ruben Rafael, who heads an anti-terror task force
on Jolo, said there was no need to bring in extra troops. "We have
enough forces to address all these threats," he said.