Philippines: Moslem Nationalists Support Islamic Terrorists

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September30, 2008:  The army offensive against the MILF has led to the capture of many documents and training facilities. It appears that the MILF was indeed (despite protests t the contrary) training foreign terrorists, and recruiting young teenagers to keep its own ranks full. The MILF also taught hatred of non-Moslems, and this was seen locally when rogue MILF gunmen in the south attacked a Moslem village, as punishment for supporting the government. The army sent another infantry battalion south, to speed up the search for MILF gunmen who have basically turned into bandits, and violent ones at that. It appears that this support for Islamic terrorists and Islamic radicalism varied from one MILF unit to another. But all MILF units refused to condemn or stop the pro-terrorist activities.

September 27, 2008: A major NPA camp was seized by troops, three of whom were killed. About a hundred of the communist rebels defended the camp, and most fled. At least eight bodies were left behind, and the rebels appear to have suffered dozens of casualties. The camp housed several hundred rebels, and was surrounded by landmines.  

September 25, 2008: Three days of fighting in the south left 22 MILF fighters dead. There are still large groups of MILF (50-100) wandering around, looking for food and shelter, since the army seized their rural camps. It's going to take months to hunt down all these guys.