Sulu attack on family kills six

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Six people, including a nine-month-old girl, were killed by unidentified gunmen who attacked a village in Patikul, Sulu, the military said yesterday.

The pre-dawn attack occurred just behind an Army camp, less than three weeks before a small group of US soldiers was deployed on the island for the Balikatan joint military exercises.

Col. Domingo Tutaan, spokesman for the military’s Southern Command based here, said there were no immediate reports on who was responsible for the attack.

"All the angles are being looked at. We cannot yet make any conclusions," Tutaan said.

Army Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo, anti-terror Task Force Comet chief based in Jolo, Sulu, said the dawn shooting could be part of fresh efforts to foment Christian-Muslim conflict in Jolo ahead of US counterterrorism exercises late this month.

Aleo said one of the survivors of the attack had claimed the gunmen initially asked them whether they were Muslims or Christians before firing their weapons.

Initial reports said at least five unidentified gunmen opened fire on three thatch houses in Barangay Liang, Patikul before dawn, killing three men.

The Muslim wife of one of the victims and their baby girl were killed along with the teenage daughter of one of the other male victims.

One child who survived the attack said the gunmen inquired if the families were Christian or Muslim.

The gunmen returned a few minutes later and strafed their houses with automatic gunfire, the survivor said.

"We don’t know the motive for the shooting (but) we suspect some groups may be trying to heat up a religious conflict on the island. We may be speculating, but the violence could be related to protests on the presence of US soldiers on Jolo," Aleo said.

Five of the victims were identified as Itting Fontanilla, 45; Emma Kasipong, 16; Pedro Kasipong, 60; Sulma Patinga; and nine-month-old Melanie Patinga.

Among the wounded were three-year-old Jayson Patinga; Nardo Patinga, 30; Jennifer Fontanilla, 19; and Lukring Kasipong, 50.

Fontanilla claimed she hid under her bed after the armed men roused them from sleep and demanded to know if they were Christians or Muslims.

The military said they are investigating reports that the Abu Sayyaf was behind the killing.

The American troops are to begin month-long exercises in Jolo on Feb. 20. Their planned deployment has raised fears of possible Abu Sayyaf attacks.

Last Thursday, about 200 Muslim activists marched around Jolo town, demanding the pullout of US troops taking part in joint military drills. The protesters also burned American flags.

Local officials said the protests were a reflection of the fear among Muslim residents of US soldiers since their presence brings back memories of colonial atrocities carried out during American rule in the early 1900s.

About 5,000 American soldiers are due to take part in the RP-US Balikatan joint military exercises.

Some 250 members of a US Special Forces unit are to be deployed on Jolo.

Protesters said they had seen some US troops fighting alongside Filipino troops in November during offensives against the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Patikul is a known hotbed of the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group linked by both Washington and Manila to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden. — With AFP, AP