Philippines battles rebels

[dArKeR]

TWO FRONTS: The military beefed up security after two bombs were set off in the south, while in the north troops engaged in a gun battle with communist rebels

DPA AND AP , COTABATO CITY AND MANILA, PHILIPPINES

The Philippine military yesterday stepped up security in key urban centers in the troubled south after two separate bomb explosions injured four people, while in the north soldiers clashed with communist rebels, killing two.
Major General Agustin Dema-ala said the Abu Sayyaf rebel group and the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) were the main suspects in the separate bomb attacks in the cities of Cotabato and Koronadal on Saturday.

"Based on previous experience, the Abu Sayyaf and the JI are the groups capable of launching such attacks," he said, adding that the bombings could have been a "diversionary tactic to ease the pressure" from unrelenting military offensives.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/08/01/2003265950