DTN News: 2 Philippine Helicopters Hit By Rebel Fire

DTN News: 2 Philippine Helicopters Hit By Rebel Fire *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) MANILA, Philippines - August 18, 2009: Suspected al-Qaida-linked militants fired at two low-flying military helicopters Sunday near a southern Philippine village where deadly clashes erupted last week, wounding two journalists and a government photographer, officials said. Philippine marines walk past residents of Jolo island in southern Philippines during a patrol August 17, 2009. The UH-1H Huey helicopters, carrying air force crewmen, a TV crew from the state-run National Broadcasting Network and a government photographer, made an emergency landing in Lamitan city on Basilan Island, regional military commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino said. Government troops stormed two strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group last Wednesday in predominantly Muslim Basilan, about 550 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, sparking fierce daylong clashes that killed 23 soldiers and 31 militants, the military said. It said the encampments were used for bomb-making training and to detain kidnapping victims. Rear Adm. Alex Pama, who helped supervise Wednesday's offensive _ the deadliest in years _ said Abu Sayyaf gunmen who were being hunted by troops may have fired at the helicopters. This photo taken on October 4, 2008 shows armed separatist Muslim guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) raising their rifles after they declared red alert status around Camp Darapanan, the rebels' base in Maguindanao province, southern Philippines. The Philippine armed forces on July 23, 2009 said it has suspended its "punitive operations" against Muslim separatist rebels in the strife-torn south to pave the way for peace talks. The Hueys were flying back to a military camp in Zamboanga city at low altitude because of low clouds when both were hit. They did not return fire because there were civilian houses nearby, Pama said. Metal debris hit a TV journalist, a cameraman and a photographer, Dolorfino said. The three were briefly treated at a hospital, Pama said. The Abu Sayyaf is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations and is suspected of having received funds and training from al-Qaida. Although weakened by yearslong U.S.-backed offensives, about 400 Abu Sayyaf gunmen on Basilan and nearby Jolo Island and the Zamboanga peninsula have recently turned to ransom kidnappings to raise funds for terror attacks.