Muslim guerrillas kill 4 marines in RP south

Capt. Jose Richie Pabilonia, spokesman for the military’s Southern Command, said militants from the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group on Jolo island took advantage of a six-day suspension of military operations during a visit of a team from the Organization of the Islamic Conference to gun down the four marines.

In the first attack on Sunday, the victim was jogging at Jolo airport when a lone gunman shot him. Another marine was killed in downtown Jolo town, and two others were fatally shot on the same day, Pabilonia said.

U.S.-backed Philippine military offensives have whittled down the Abu Sayyaf’s strength on Jolo from more than 1,000 rebels in early 2000 to about 400, but the rebels remain active. U.S. troops have undertaken civic projects for months on Jolo, including dental treatment and school and road construction, and have trained Filipino soldiers battling Abu Sayyaf militants in other southern provinces.

Residents of Jolo and neighboring provinces have suffered many attacks by the Abu Sayyaf, a small but brutal group linked to the al-Qaida network and notorious for deadly bombings, beheadings, kidnappings and other attacks.

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