Philippine navy to deploy additional troops to troubled south

Jul 3, 2009, 6:40 GMT

   Manila - The Philippine navy will deploy additional troops to the conflict-wracked southern region of Mindanao to augment forces battling threat groups, especially al-Qaeda-linked Muslim militants, officials said Friday.

   The navy will also be dispatching two more multi-purpose attack seacraft to the region to help patrol the seas, navy chief Vice Admiral Ferdinand Golez said.

   Golez said the deployments were in response to 'the need for increased tempo of operations in the area' amid increasing hostilities from Muslim separatist rebels and militants linked with the al Qaeda terrorist network.

   Navy spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo said the additional troops of around 600 officers and soldiers will be deployed to Jolo island and Basilan province.

   Both Jolo and Basilan are strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group, which has ties with al Qaeda and the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group.

   'The intensified drive to flush the Abu Sayyaf bandits and other lawless groups from their lairs takes a sharp turn in favour of the government with this fresh input of a batallion of battle-hardened marines,' he said.

   Abu Sayyaf rebels have been holding captive an Italian Red Cross worker in the jungles of Jolo since January. Eugenio Vagni was abducted with two other colleagues, a Swiss and a Filipino, who were freed separately in April.

   Aside from high-profile kidnappings, the guerrillas have also been blamed for some of the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines. They are believed to be working and training with JI operatives in Mindanao.