Terrorist Bombs in the Philippines

Two bombs exploded in separate shopping centres in the Filipino city of Zamboanga, on the island of Mindanao, on Thursday, killing six people outright and injuring 143, 20 of whom are in critical condition. Islamic fundamentalist groups are suspected of being behind these attacks.

This was the third bomb attack in the country this month. On 2nd October, three people were killed in an attack attributed to the terrorist organisations Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. On 10th October, a larger explosion killed eight people. Now the Filipino government has added the Jemaah Islamyah group to its list of suspects, after the bomb which killed nearly 200 people in Bali last weekend.

This group fights for a united Islamic state which includes the territory of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Sultanate of Brunei and the southern Philippines.

At the end of September, Abu Sayyaf announced that it was going to increase attacks on civilian targets in response to a more aggressive government offensive.

In Indonesia, the leader of Jemaah Islamyah, Abu Bakar Bachir, has been arrested and emergency legislation to introduce the death penalty is expected to be pushed through parliament today. Bachir had been quoted as saying that “The Palestinians killed by Israel will go to Heaven. Those who died in Bali will go straight to Hell”.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru