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Come and Get Us, Abu Sayyaf Says to U.S.
JAKARTA, Oct 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - With a defiant, "We are not afraid of them, Come and get us," the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines launched a new ultimatum to the United States Sunday.
A few months ago, the Abu Sayyaf said they were ready to confront U.S. soldiers on the terrain if the latter were to support the Philippines military in its search for the bandits.
The Philippine authorities say the group has links to Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden, having been financed by the al-Qaeda organization.
The Abu Sayyaf was also active in Afghanistan at the height of the Soviet invasion and helped the
mujahideen (fighters) fight the Red Army, sources in Manila said.
On Sunday, spokesperson Abu Sabaya said in an interview aired over dzRH radio that his group was not afraid of American military power, and that it had access to U.S. military equipment through the Philippine Army.
"We have long wanted to fight the U.S. If they want the problem of the Philippines to worsen, let them come here. We are not afraid of them," Sabaya said, according to news agencies.
The United States has listed the Abu Sayyaf as one of the groups with links to bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, whom U.S. officials blame for the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington DC.
The Abu Sayyaf has been holding two Americans and 16 Filipinos hostage for months on Basilan Island.
In July, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered an intensified crackdown on the group and gave the military and police wider powers to arrest people suspected of aiding them.
Abu Sabaya said his men were able to get their hands on some of the U.S. equipment supplied to the Philippine armed forces, and called on the United States to supply more.
"It is to our advantage the U.S. is giving supplies - those high-tech equipment to the [Philippine] military - because we are being supplied by the U.S., too," he said.
"We are getting those [supplies], those night-vision [devices] that they have... all of the supplies given by the U.S., we get a part of that too," Sabaya said.
"Tell them to increase their supplies so we can get a share," he added.
On Saturday, the Philippine military asked the U.S. for help in identifying skeletal remains believed to be those of a third American hostage which were found Friday.
The skeletal remains believed to be of California resident Guillermo Sobero were flown from Basilan to Zamboanga City and will be flown to Manila later, military spokesman Colonel Darwin Guerra said.
"We cannot still determine yet as to who owns the remains," said Brigadier General Glicerio Sua, head of a task force tracking the Abu Sayyaf, who are still holding two other Americans and 16 Filipinos in Basilan.
Guerra said the skull was missing from the skeletal remains, apparently confirming Abu Sayyaf claims that they beheaded Sobero.
Washington has issued stern warnings to its citizens not to venture in the Philippines in light of the then expected attack on Afghanistan.
The U.S. government withdrew officials and government contractors Saturday from Mindanao as renewed concerns about the safety of Americans in the country amid increases in extremist activities.
"As a precaution, the U.S. government has temporarily withdrawn resident official Americans and contractors from these areas," the U.S. State Department said in a statement that referred to southern and western Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.
In Manila, Arroyo's spokesman expressed surprise at the new State Department warning to U.S. citizens of heightened risks in traveling to the Philippines.
"We have to clarify that," Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said, reacting to the State Department warning and subsequent withdrawal of U.S. officials.
The statement from Washington was released just hours after an earlier announcement advising U.S. citizens of heightened risks in traveling to the Philippines and did not say how many people were affected by the order.
"A number of recent security-related incidents highlight the danger of travel in the Philippines," the State Department said in the earlier statement that noted the September 11th attacks.
"Kidnappings of foreigners, bombings, and other violent incidents call for Americans to exercise great caution throughout the Philippines," it said.
"Moreover, as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States, U.S. citizens and interests may be at increased risk of terrorist actions from extremist groups," it added.
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