Word: milf
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...What will they freeze? We don't have a single centavo." EId Kabalu, Moro Islamic Liberation Front spokesman, on the Philippine government's threat to label the milf a terrorist outfit and freeze its assets...
...which specialized in kidnapping-for-ransom before dedicating itself to jihad last year, is far away on the islands of Jolo and Basilan, southwest of Mindanao. Some suspect that the Abu Sayyaf wanted to take the blame to sound more fearsome than it currently is?or to shield the MILF, which is in peace talks with Manila. Those talks are now stalled, intensifying the sense of instability in the region: in mid-February, the Philippine armed forces launched a full-scale military offensive (involving 5,000 soldiers and marines backed by air and artillery support) against one of the MILF...
...Intelligence sources tell Time that Salamat had, in fact, ratcheted up his jihad campaign even before that broadcast, directing the MILF's Special Operations Group (SOG) to launch retaliatory strikes in urban areas of Mindanao. The SOG attacked military targets and power transmission towers, plunging 90% of Mindanao into darkness with one explosion in late February. Cotabato City airport was bombed, too, killing one person and injuring six. Then came the attack in Davao, which the authorities are also attributing to the MILF. They claim Sudang, the suspected suicide bomber, was an MILF member, and Mayor Duterte says Sudang...
...What makes this situation so unsettling is the MILF's history of hitting back hard when it becomes desperate. "The nature of the MILF has always been particularly vengeful and retaliatory," says author Gunaratna. Following the last major campaign against the MILF in 2000, Salamat also gave an anguished call to would-be jihadis?and many welcomed his invitation. On Dec. 30, 2000, several bombs went off across Manila, killing 22 people and wounding more than 100. An Indonesian JI operative named Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi was eventually caught and convicted for possessing one ton of TNT. He confessed that...
...MILF has officially disowned the 37-year-old Muklis. But Philippine intelligence officials say the Afghanistan-trained bomber still heads the SOG, which has a record of terrorist attacks on civilians in urban areas. Sources tell Time that shortly after the beginning of the army offensive in February, Muklis, in hiding in Lanao del Sur province, was contacted by SOG personnel to plan retaliatory strikes. If this is true, it's an ominous prospect for the Philippines...