Police stormed a maximum-security jail in a hail of gunfire yesterday, killing 22 detainees and retaking the facility from Muslim militants who stole weapons from guards during a botched breakout.
Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes said four leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group were among the dead, including two men who headed Monday's escape attempt at Camp Bagong Diwa in suburban Manila that left an additional five people dead.
"The terrorists got what was coming to them," Ignacio Bunye, press secretary for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said in a statement. "The crisis team gave them all the chances to peacefully surrender."
The assault to end the latest in a string of embarrassing jail breaks and attempts raised worries about terror attacks, national police chief Arturo Lomibao said.
"We hope there's going to be no retaliatory strikes from our Muslim brothers because they know what happened here," he said. "We tried to resolve it peacefully. There's no such thing as persecution or that we are singling them out."
An Abu Sayyaf leader still at large, Abu Sulaiman, warned the public, in an interview with DZBB radio, that the militants would bring war "right into your doorstep." The group claimed responsibility for three bombings in three cities last month that killed eight people and wounded 100.
After yesterday's assault, sweat-soaked police marksmen filed out of the building to the applause of bystanders, escorting detainees stripped to their underwear and with hands clasped behind their heads.
Officials said police found eight handguns and two unexploded grenades in the jail after the assault, which left 22 inmates and one officer dead and six other officers wounded. The lone police fatality was discovered under a pile of debris hours after the operation ended.
Senior Superintendent Benjamin Magalong called the fighting "intense."
Reyes named three Abu Sayyaf leaders among the detainees killed: Alhamzer Manatad Limbong, known as Kosovo; Ghalib Andang, known as Commander Robot; and Nadzmie Sabtulah, alias Commander Global. All were accused in mass kidnappings and other terror acts.
Abu Sayyaf detainee Hazdi Daie, a spokesman for the inmates, also was killed, Reyes said.
Identities of the other 18 detainees killed were not immediately known.
The assault came after Reyes gave the inmates 15 minutes to surrender. A deal Monday to end the drama fell apart over the militants' demand for dinner.
"They refused to yield the firearms which they grabbed from the guards and turned down our calls and assurances for their safety, including the plea of our Muslim leaders," Reyes said.
As the deadline passed, intense gunfire rang out. Police fired tear gas, and sharpshooters ran in and out of the main steel gates wearing gas masks. A police helicopter hovered above and ambulances waited for casualties.
The jail had about 425 suspects, including 129 suspected members and leaders Abu Sayyaf, notorious for deadly bombings and ransom kidnappings in which some hostages were beheaded.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
ALLIANCE: Washington continues to implement its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan and helps enhance its defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US President Joe Biden on Friday agreed to provide US$571.3 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the US State Department approved the potential sale of US$265 million in military equipment. Biden had delegated to the secretary of state the authority “to direct the drawdown of up to US$571.3 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement. However, it did not provide specific details about this latest package, which was the third of its kind to
RSS