Philippine Army Says Guerrillas Killed Christians
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MANILA — Suspected Muslim rebels shot dead 21 Christians, including a pregnant woman, in a mosque in the southern Philippines, the army said Monday.
It said the dead were among 29 people seized Sunday by 100 armed men and taken to a mosque in the town of Bumbaran in Lanao del Sur province on the island of Mindanao.
The captives were tied up for 14 hours and later shot. Eight captives, including a local councilor, survived the attack, an army report said.
“All of them [the 29] were Christians,” said army spokesman Maj. Johnny Macanas.
He blamed the main Muslim rebel group in the Philippines, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, which is fighting for an independent Muslim homeland in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines.
The guerrilla group denied involvement in the attack, saying members would not desecrate a mosque by killing people there. It instead blamed the military for the killings.
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