Military suspects Abu Sayyaf in killing of 2 civilians

Suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels gunned down two civilians in separate attacks in the southern Philippines, police and military said on Thursday. Authorities said unidentified men shot Ruel Bernal, 32, around 5.45 a.m. Thursday near a Catholic church in downtown Jolo, several blocks from a police outpost. Bernal, a native of Zamboanga City, was selling cigarettes, when he was attacked. The incident occurred barely a day after another civilian, Jurick Pollalos, 22, who worked at a coffee shop in downtown Jolo, was killed by two gunmen. The motives of the attacks were still unknown, but Air Force Capt. Jose Ritche Pabilonia, Southern Command spokesman, blamed the Abu Sayyaf for the two killings. "We suspect the Abu Sayyaf as behind the two attacks. The killings bore the signature of the Abu Sayyaf's urban terrorists group," he said. He said the group was also linked to the killings of four government soldiers in downtown Jolo over the weekend. "Police and military are investigating the attacks and security forces were ordered to intensify their operation against the terrorists," Pabilonia said. The Abu Sayyaf group, which authorities link to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, has been blamed for the spate of killings, bombings, and kidnappings on Jolo island, about 950 kilometers south of Manila. Washington offered as much as $5 million bounty for the arrest of Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani. The US included the group on its list of foreign terrorist organizations. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also put up P100-million reward for the capture of the group's leaders and members, either dead or alive. - GMANews.TV