U.S. to Boost Philippine Effort
ISABELA, Philippines -- The United States and the Philippines agreed Monday to move U.S. Special Forces troops closer to combat areas in the country’s south in a stepped-up manhunt for Muslim guerrillas linked to Osama bin Laden.
The presidential palace in Manila announced the decision as U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz flew to the southern island of Basilan, stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf rebels, and met U.S. troops training Philippine soldiers in counter-terrorism.
Delayed military reports said six guerrillas and a Philippine soldier were killed in fighting Sunday with another Abu Sayyaf group operating on Jolo island, near Basilan.
“There was consensus that training will be intensified and pushed forward,” Philippine presidential spokesman Silvestre Afable said after talks between Wolfowitz and government officials.
But U.S. troops will not be allowed to engage the rebels in combat, as “this is the war of our own armed forces,” he said. The Americans can fire only in self-defense.
Both sides said they were also considering extending their joint military exercises, which are aimed at wiping out the rebels.
The Abu Sayyaf says it is fighting for a separate Muslim state.
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