Police stormed a maximum-security jail in a hail of gunfire yesterday, killing 22 detainees and retaking the facility from Muslim militants who stole weapons from guards during a botched breakout.
Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes said four leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group were among the dead, including two men who headed Monday's escape attempt at Camp Bagong Diwa in suburban Manila that left an additional five people dead.
"The terrorists got what was coming to them," Ignacio Bunye, press secretary for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said in a statement. "The crisis team gave them all the chances to peacefully surrender."
The assault to end the latest in a string of embarrassing jail breaks and attempts raised worries about terror attacks, national police chief Arturo Lomibao said.
"We hope there's going to be no retaliatory strikes from our Muslim brothers because they know what happened here," he said. "We tried to resolve it peacefully. There's no such thing as persecution or that we are singling them out."
An Abu Sayyaf leader still at large, Abu Sulaiman, warned the public, in an interview with DZBB radio, that the militants would bring war "right into your doorstep." The group claimed responsibility for three bombings in three cities last month that killed eight people and wounded 100.
After yesterday's assault, sweat-soaked police marksmen filed out of the building to the applause of bystanders, escorting detainees stripped to their underwear and with hands clasped behind their heads.
Officials said police found eight handguns and two unexploded grenades in the jail after the assault, which left 22 inmates and one officer dead and six other officers wounded. The lone police fatality was discovered under a pile of debris hours after the operation ended.
Senior Superintendent Benjamin Magalong called the fighting "intense."
Reyes named three Abu Sayyaf leaders among the detainees killed: Alhamzer Manatad Limbong, known as Kosovo; Ghalib Andang, known as Commander Robot; and Nadzmie Sabtulah, alias Commander Global. All were accused in mass kidnappings and other terror acts.
Abu Sayyaf detainee Hazdi Daie, a spokesman for the inmates, also was killed, Reyes said.
Identities of the other 18 detainees killed were not immediately known.
The assault came after Reyes gave the inmates 15 minutes to surrender. A deal Monday to end the drama fell apart over the militants' demand for dinner.
"They refused to yield the firearms which they grabbed from the guards and turned down our calls and assurances for their safety, including the plea of our Muslim leaders," Reyes said.
As the deadline passed, intense gunfire rang out. Police fired tear gas, and sharpshooters ran in and out of the main steel gates wearing gas masks. A police helicopter hovered above and ambulances waited for casualties.
The jail had about 425 suspects, including 129 suspected members and leaders Abu Sayyaf, notorious for deadly bombings and ransom kidnappings in which some hostages were beheaded.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in