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Philippine soldiers dig up graves of suspected terrorists

A major separatist Muslim group filed a complaint against the Armed Forces of the Philippines for digging up two fresh graves, believing that they retrieved the bodies of two Indonesian nationals.

  • By Barbara Mae Dacanay, Bureau Chief
  • Published: 23:41 June 29, 2008
  • Gulf News

Manila: A major separatist Muslim group filed a complaint against the Armed Forces of the Philippines for digging up two fresh graves, believing that they retrieved the bodies of two Indonesian nationals who were tagged as behind the bombing that killed 200 in Bali, Indonesia in 2002, the group's website said.

On June 23, soldiers dug up the grave of Albi Moro who was buried in a gravesite in Buhati Village in Luuk Sulu.

"His decomposed body was retrieved and taken by the soldiers for unknown purpose. On the same night, they also dug up and retrieved the body of an unidentified woman who was buried 40 days back in the same area," Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Sulu Commander Basaron Kamlon said.

Al Qaida network

The soldiers claimed that they got the bodies of Dulmatin and Umar Patik, Indonesian nationals and alleged members of the Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian conduit of the Al Qaida terror network, said Kamlon.

Intelligence reports said the two Indonesian nationals went into hiding in Sulu, with the help of the Abu Sayyaf Group, a local terror group in the south.

The families of the two deceased have prepared to file a complaint against the soldiers, said Kamlon.

The soldiers passed by Buhati village, an MILF-controlled area, without coordination with the MILF, said Kamlon. The Philippine government and the MILF have been holding on and off peace talks since 1997.

with inputs from Ed General, Correspondent

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