Pinoys helping Fedayeen Saddam?

Radical Filipino Muslims in the Middle East may have joined the Saddam Hussein’s fedayeen (suicide fighters) in repulsing invading US troops, sources told The STAR yesterday.

Sources in the Muslim community said extremist Filipino Muslims in Iran and Syria were among those who have slipped into Iraq to fight the Americans and allied forces.

Datu Zamzamin Ampatuan, director general of the Office of Muslim Affairs, who has neither confirmed nor denied the report, said a small group of Filipino Muslims had fought against Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

"These are small groups of extremists who had undergone military training and made themselves available to join jihad," he said.

Ampatuan said radical Filipino Muslims in Mindanao have publicly expressed their desire to go to Iraq to join the Iraqi resistance against the American invaders.

However, he said the majority of Filipino Muslims support the American action to oust Saddam Hussein and drive him out of Iraq because of the atrocities he committed against his people.

"The Filipino Muslim community is fully supportive of the programs of President Arroyo for national development, except for a few who are identified with peace activists, they would rather concentrate on their daily undertakings rather than join in a jihad," he said.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has not announced any public support for Saddam’s regime, he added. – Perseus Echeminada