....In all, bombings against civilians in the Philippines have caused over 1,700 casualties in the last seven years, more than the number of people killed and injured in bombing attacks during the same period in neighboring Indonesia (including the 2002 Bali bombings), and considerably more than the number of those killed and injured in bombings in Morocco, Spain, Turkey, or Britain. Moreover, in addition to bombings, extremist groups in the Philippines have carried out numerous kidnappings and targeted killings, including beheadings, and have extorted large amounts of money from Philippine civilians in ransom and extortion payments.
Members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), based in the southern Philippines, have claimed responsibility for many of these crimes. ASG is a radical Islamist group whose members broke away in the 1990s from more established ethnic Moro insurgent groups (“Moro” is a Philippine term for Muslim). RSM, a group composed of converts to Islam, is closely tied to ASG. The two groups purportedly aim to push Christians out from Mindanao and the Sulu islands and “restore” Islamic rule over the Philippines.
Both ASG and RSM maintain links with current or former members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the violent Indonesian Islamist group responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings. Philippine government officials also claim that elements of the longstanding Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have, over the last few years, provided sanctuary or assistance for ASG, RSM, and JI members.....
Attacks on Civilians in the Philippines
Bookmarks