Philippine Group Says Ferry Fire Is Revenge

The Islamic extremist group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility today for an explosion on a ferry that sparked a fire and left 180 people missing, a Philippine radio station reported.

The Radio Mindanao Network, which the Abu Sayyaf has often called, quoted guerrilla spokesman Abu Sulaiman as saying the blast was a revenge attack for alleged incidents of violence in Mindandao by the military and victimization of Muslim women.

“This is a revenge.... Muslim women in some areas were raped by some air force troops,” radio program director Benji Alejandro quoted Sulaiman as saying.

Fire raced through the Superferry 14 on Friday shortly after it left Manila for central and southern islands. Witnesses reported that a powerful explosion sparked an inferno. Officials have said they cannot rule out terrorism, even though police dogs checked the ferry before it left Manila.

The fire occurred the same day that two accused Abu Sayyaf members were convicted and sentenced for kidnapping an American in 2000 and a third was arraigned for a separate mass abduction.

Police intelligence reports have said the Superferrys, one of the main forms of inter- island travel in the sprawling archipelago, are a potential Abu Sayyaf target. But the military downplayed the Abu Sayyaf claim, saying it may have been a bluff to project strength amid battle setbacks that have weakened the group.