April 22,
2008: Around the capital, police have
found one terrorist bomb factory, or at least a place where there were lots of
bomb components. Captured documents indicate that the plotters were part of
Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.
Meanwhile,
in the south, Abu Sayyaf has been involved in several kidnappings. These are
apparently for ransom, and the victims are Moslems. This does nothing for Abu
Sayyaf's reputation among Moslems. Islamic terrorists, in general, are having a
hard time maintaining any visibility in the news. The terrorists are on a
downward trend and may get more desperate before the last organized groups are
caught.
Communist
NPA rebels have been using stolen army uniforms to get into villages guarded by
armed militia. The rebels then loot the village of food and cash, and take the
weapons of the militiamen. The NPA is
under increasing pressure from the army and police. Because the rebels are more
frequently forced to live by plunder, more rural civilians are willing to
inform on them. This leads to more gun battles with government forces, more
casualties and more desertions.
April 13,
2008: Two small bombs went off in the south, one outside a Catholic cathedral.
There were no casualties and Abu Sayyaf was suspected, as this groups is known
to be desperate to get some terrorist action going in the area.
