www.gmanews.tv reported that the military fired a dozen or so rounds of cannons towards the jungle of Sulu and that truckloads of soldiers were seen in Jolo town. Mayor Isnaji also spoke of a U.S. spy plane.
The emissary Mayor Isnaji said this could “put the lives of the victims in danger”. He also said that the captors were alarmed by a U.S. spy plane flying over Sulu since Saturday.
The news report said “Howitzer cannons”. I don’t know if these were the same Howitzers used by the Marines last year in Basilan when a dozen Marines looked for Father Bossi. There was an investigation (remember that?) of the incident and of the weapons used. I was going to write here the range (distance) and how the ammunition exploded but you can look it up yourself, i don’t want to say anything at this point, i’m sure the military is using “tried and tested methods” (whatever i say now is useless, yesterday this blog second-guessed the crisis committee, uselessly i guess, when the blog post pointed out a small, unnoticed paragraph in Manila Times saying there were “U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles” (see post below); well, actually, i didn’t second-guess, i went ballistic that the crisis committee didn’t seem to be managing the … i’ll just stop right here. Here’s the update: news report from www.gmanews.tv . The shelling was ordered by Malacañang, according to the news reports. I’m done, there is no crisis committee; it’s just the AFP top brass and Manila-based Malacañang people making recommendations and Malacañang issuing the orders using the usual. Here’s the news report:)
Quote “Philippine security forces fired about a dozen rounds of cannons toward the hinterlands of Sulu island as truckloads of soldiers were spotted at dawn Sunday leaving a military base in Jolo town.
Quote “It was not yet known if the attacks targeted Abu Sayyaf members holding three people hostage or another faction of the militant group who reportedly has links to both the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, blamed for the spate of terrorism in southern Philippines.
Quote “The sounds of the loud explosions from Howitzer cannons reverberated in Jolo, Patikul, and Indanan towns. The firing began at around 3 a.m.
Quote “It was unknown if the early morning assault was a prelude to the rescue of the hostages. Later in the day, more soldiers arrived in Sulu on board the Philippine Navy ship BRP Bacolod City. XXXX
Quote “He (Mayor Isnaji Alvarez) also said the military’s firing of cannons could (sic, the newspaper’s) “is putting the lives of the victims in danger.”
Quote “Isnaji said the kidnappers were also alarmed by a US spy plane flying over Sulu since Saturday. “They are alarmed by this spy plane which is probably on a reconnaissance mission,” he said. “ closed-quote.
