September
30, 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.
