Philippine island braces for extremist revenge

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP) - – Security forces on the Philippine island of Jolo are on alert for retaliatory attacks by Islamist militants after the capture of one of their main camps, officials said Tuesday.

Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, head of police in the capital town of Jolo, said he had received intelligence reports that the Abu Sayyaf plans to attack the town after their largest camp on the island was captured on Sunday.

Police had set up more road checkpoints and were conducting more foot patrols, he said.

Communities on the island expressed fear of Abu Sayyaf attacks, with people living near military camps fleeing their homes in anticipation.

The military overran an Abu Sayyaf stronghold in a mountainous area just outside Jolo town on Sunday, killing some 17 of the extremist fighters.

But a day later, the Abu Sayyaf ambushed Marines who had just left the newly captured camp, killing eight soldiers and losing five of their own.

Military spokesman Major Ramon David Hontiveros said that the military only overran the rebel camp after learning that some 220 Abu Sayyaf fighters were massing there, possibly for an attack on nearby Jolo town.

"We perceived this as a threat to the capital of Jolo. The presence of 200-plus Abu Sayyaf necessitated action by the armed forces," he told AFP.

"Have they abandoned that plan? I'm not sure. We need to conduct more intelligence operations about that.

"The capture of that camp is a good outcome but... it takes a lot more than taking one camp. We need to locate them again to prevent them mounting more attacks," he said.

The Abu Sayyaf was established in the early 1990s, allegedly with seed money from Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, to fight for a Muslim state in the south of this mainly Roman Catholic nation.

It has kidnapped dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists in the south and was blamed for the country's worst terrorist strike, the bombing of a ferry in 2004 that killed over 100 people.

The group relies mainly on extensive family relations to survive and thrive on the small island of Jolo, where small units of US military advisers are training Philippine counter-terrorist forces based mainly in bigger towns.