August 22, 2007: Abu Sayyaf has posted a fund
raising video on YouTube, appealing to wealthy Arabs for money. The two main
spokesmen on the video are Abu Sayyaf leaders who have already been killed by
Filipino armed forces. The YouTube video was cobbled together from lots of
older videos.
August 21, 2007: In the southern city of Zamboanga,
a bomb went off, wounding 14 people. Abu Sayyaf was suspected. Police later
found and defused another bomb on a bus. These are believed to be revenge
attacks, because of the beating Abu Sayyaf has taken recently on Jolo and
Basilan.
August 20, 2007: Resumption of peace talks
with the MILF have been postponed, apparently because members of the government
disagree on how many concessions to make to the Islamic separatists.
August 18, 2007: On Basilan island, troops found
and captured an Abu Sayyaf camp. During the fighting, 16 troops and over twice
as many rebels were killed. One of the dead rebels was wanted in connection
with last months ambush and killing of 14 marines.
August 17, 2007: On Jolo
island, the 300 or so Abu Sayyaf rebels have split into smaller groups to
escape the intensifying search effort. Some 4,500 soldiers and marines have spent
months combing the island, and know many of the rebel hideouts. It's become
more difficult for larger (30 or more) groups of rebels to operate. The smaller
groups of rebels are more vulnerable if they encounter troops, because they
won't have the firepower to shoot their way out the situation and escape into
the bush.
