storm city book one

2005-09-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

STORM CITY BOOK ONE

Title Page

Disclaimer

Dedication

Partial Compilation of Terror Acts

Title Page

2004-11-30T08:54:00.000-08:00

STORM CITY

BOOK ONE

Disclaimer

2004-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to actual persons, names of places, or events, among many others, is purely coincidence. Everything in this work emanated entirely from the imagination of the author.

Dedication

2004-11-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

This work is dedicated to all the aid and rescue workers all over the world with special mention to the:

Red Cross
Red Crescent
UN High Commission on Refugees
United Nations Relief and Works Agency
World Health Organization

and all the countless other individuals, groups and organizations who have never stopped providing humanitarian assistance to their fellow men during and in the aftermath of man-made and natural calamities and disasters.

May God bless you and may your tribe increase!

May God grant grace to all the victims you serve!

And may people always realize that you need
that budget and those donations in kind badly.

Prologue

2004-11-30T07:57:00.000-08:00

PROLOGUE

THE SALUAG INCIDENT
July 27, 2002 1200H

MARIKO YASHIDA was in her mid-20s. Many would call her handsome, because she had a boyishness about her. Her clipped short hair reminds one of young teenage boys engrossed with puppy love and learning how to say "I like you."

She was neither erotic nor invited such thoughts in the opposite sex. She often wore her blouse and trousers, like today, in a very restrained way. Her choice colors were light brown, sky blue and she put on as little make up as she can. There was nothing unfeminine nor masculine about it; it was just simply that she didn't like wasting time for chores or activities she had lined up for the day painting her face.

People gravitate toward her though. That was because they quickly get along well with her, or at least that is what they think. Mariko had that unique muted, gentle effect upon everyone.

She simply could make anyone, just about anyone, feel at ease.

Mariko’s hands went up to her face. She was almost about to nibble on her fingernails, but her better sense took over; she retracted the hand at once.

She had a happy childhood. While her mother worked away from home, sometimes she thought going up to the ends of the world when she was a kid, everyone was there to fill up for her mom's sometime absences. Her dad most of all, always gave her a sense of security. For this reason, many people described her as serene, a calming presence and a very subtle person.

While deep inside she knew she would be comfortable in hip hop getups, or funky or even punk wear, as many kids in Japan had tried once or more than once in their lives, she often went out of the house wearing something subdued.

She never tried not to be in complicated situations, in fact she longed -- no yearned was the better term -- for them. Frequently, she would be shocked at herself saying, "Today, I'd look for something dangerous to plunge into!" Of course, that never happened but sometimes she would get into a little bind and never felt scared just because. Of course, she and many other Japanese knew, it was easy to find something dangerous in the red light districts or some other dinghy spot in Japan where they practice BSDM to the extremes and nearly or sometimes even actually, kill the objects of their desire.

In all of her twenty five years, though, there was nothing like this. She was never confronted by so much foul smelling blood, bile, human feces and decaying flesh blackened by the elements — neither so much as been near it. There were too many corpses she had to come to terms with, reeking of a powerful stench that upset her beyond her sense of smell. It touched something deep within her that she couldn’t put her finger on.

This tableau met her and fellow members of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) contingent, first to respond on the dreary landscape of the island of Saluag, along Sibutu Pass, southwestern most in the Philippine archipelago. Her very first brush with true to life horror. She passed the stage of graduating from the guidelines, the stories and the anecdotes she read in her Emergency Medical Technician’s Manuals and all the reference materials she and her fellow trainees had conscientiously studied.

She was standing at the passenger’s side of a gray military version of the Toyota Land Cruiser mini truck. The truck was now a Field Litter Ambulance (FLA) of the Air Force. Here at the site, the ambulance was on loan to the Red Cross.

She looked up – as if to say a prayer and saw Philippine Air Force Major Ramon Signes – who was leading the security complement in behalf of the Philippine Government as he panned across the scene, highly intelligent eyes assessing the scene.

Mariko considered silently, clearly, this was the only deliberate massacre of its magnitude that happened in the last thirty years in Ramon’s country. Her own had its share of bloodletting. All those wars between the kingdoms before Japan finally became one nation. Her eyes watered taking in the sight of more than a hundred eighty bundled corpses. A female body, the only one farthest from the rest – about two hundred meters away was visibly holding with her left hand a strange looking knife.

The road up ahead revealed a light blue painted lightweight balloon-lift, single-wing and single-engine wide body passenger aircraft with extended passenger room. No scratches, neither alterations nor any other defects were on the outside of the aircraft. It was not, however, untouched. Farther ahead, were what remained of another aircraft of still unknown type and make, all gutted up. Mariko slowly alighted from the FLA and started to feel odd about something she could not place: Something was wrong. Definitely wrong. As she joined her fellow Red Cross volunteers, she vowed to find out what it was.

Mariko wandered away from the disentangled, warped mass of bodies in front of her - somewhere deep inside her sickened by what she was experiencing. Indeed, what she had seen was not enough. The disfigured, headless female, all shot up with lead from her legs to her neck beyond the heap beckoned her. Besides the deep punctured injuries, the body showed a few expertly delivered hack wounds from a sharp bolo - severing her head from her body. She appeared to have been executed with impunity. Pieces of her flesh were scattered about her. Mariko asked herself, if she were shot up at close range, certainly she would not have survived.

Noone can revive me after my tormentors were through shooting she thought. Why would anyone still take my head away then? It was as if someone left an imprint of vicious hatred upon the dead woman.

Scattered beside her incongruous frame were a number of minute compact discs.

“Please take care of these Rhea.” Mariko asked a forensic technician to take the CDs.

“Okay.” The young lady forensic investigator lifted the CDs slowly using a rubber glove and a tweezer. She placed them inside a small evidence bag.

The young investigator did not know that the harmless set of discs would later cost a number of lives.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

MORE THAN 100 DEAD IN MINDANAO MISHAP
by Carlo Bangilon
PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY

TAWI-TAWI, SULU. July 28, 2002. — A large number of casualties were found yesterday in Saluag Island, just several hours away from Tawi-Tawi, Sulu.

The bodies of more than a hundred dead persons were discovered by fishermen who were on their way to fishing zone in the Celebes Sea.

The place is still presently closed to media but Abbas Kumila, one of the fishermen who found the bodies, was interviewed last night by PNA. Abbas said that the sight was so fearsome, hundreds of people without heads, no more arms, no legs and some had their bodies cut up into two or more parts.

Col. Malik Amondo, commander of the Philippine Marines unit in Jolo who had first visited the site and alerted the responsible authorities about the incident, said “We are mystified about this incident. We will investigate the roots of this.” This was no plane crash. It was something else. Col. Amondo declined to comment further.

Saluag Island, present population 0, is located, along Sibutu Pass, Southwest Mindanao. Residents of nearby barangays, Simunul and Manuk Manka I of Tawi-Tawi, swear that they heard successive volleys of what seemed to be like gunfire. At first they thought it was distant thunder or lightning. But since most of them are familiar with gunshots, they were able to later distinguish the sound as coming from guns.

# # #

2 PLANES DOWN, 180 FOUND DEAD IN MINDANAO
by Dino Mascardo
MINDANAO DAILY GAZZETTE

TAWI-TAWI, 07/28/2002 — A mysterious twist of fate has left no less than one hundred and eighty persons dead in an Island of Tawi-Tawi called Saluag, along Sibutu Pass, in the southwestern most in the Philippine archipelago.

As this report is being filed, the Philippines National Red Cross and the International Red Cross volunteers and Department of National Defense emergency workers are at the scene and managing the incident.

Both local and foreign media await word about when members of the press will be allowed into the place. Some locals who were interviewed here said that fishermen out to fish near Sabah in the Celebes discovered the bodies. They said the sight made them afraid. The locals found hundreds of dead bodies in the island.

A returning supply team from the Philippine Air Force confirmed that as of the last count, one hundred eighty people were accounted for with missing body parts like heads, arms, legs with some bodies cut up into two or more parts. The source who asked not to be identified said that the victims were killed massacre-style. And that indeed, the sight was gruesome.

The governor of Sulu, Walek Harsalaan was in Tawi-Tawi early yesterday and he met with local officials to instruct them to provide support and assistance to the private volunteers and government workers who are now in the site of the incident.

Meanwhile, residents of Simunul Island and Manuk Manka I said that they a series of gunshots from Saluag Island.

# # #

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He was never an Academy man, and yet in some ways, Maj. Ramon Signes was proud of it too. He was proud of himself and what he managed to accomplish. While he was born of civilian parents from one of the Philippines’ oldest districts, Tondo, Ramon had always wanted to do soldiering.

Dreaming and working hard at his dream to follow the footsteps of his family’s forebears. Col. Ramon Domingo II, also known as “RD” and “Hot Rod” to those who knew him well, was a superb pilot and one of the best that ever was in the history of the Philippine Air Force. He fought gallantly against the Japanese. Gen. Artemio Signes fought besides the Great Filipino Hero, Andres Bonifacio against the Kingdom of Spain.

Maj. Signes was named after “Hot Rod” and was an exemplary officer just like him. He earned the monicker of Venus’ Flyboy so that his old fighter jet when he was a lieutenant, also bore the letters. His F-8 Crusader fighter plane has since been grounded by PAF high command not because of all of its drawings of female lips of varying shapes. The parts were really just slow in coming and to Ramon's disgust, he got himself reassigned in the meantime to Rescue, the Philippine Air Force 505th Air Rescue Group that used to be known as the Rescue Wing.

Later, he was seconded to Intelligence and Security, because as his superiors say, he had a way with women. Ramon doubted however, that it was a guaranteed way of gathering intelligence and maintaining security and said to officers and airmen close to him that he resented the transfer because he had come to love the Rescue Wing. The Rescue boys with whom he'd enjoyed working were nearly all here now.

Here and now was at the incident site. The same day of their arrival.

He had just had a brief meeting with Mariko Yashida's group. During the meeting, Mariko’s senior, Dr. Janey Coscolluella could not afford to be — at her best — totally objective. Dr. Janey Coscolluella, was the most senior first responder group's medic on the scene.

She kept repeating, as if to herself and to everyone in the briefing session, the statement that, “This island is such a really, really beautiful place and it was such a waste to spoil it like this!” “God blessed us with such a wonderful island of beaches like this. And now, the enitre world will learn that we have laid it to waste.”

The session did not last long enough since it seemed that everyone else wanted Dr. Janey to come to her senses first. Possibly, when they begin some of the work in earnest, some even whispered.

Now Janey was standing at the lookout point with Ramon. As she also panned over the wreckage and upon the wretchedness in front of her, one by one, the victims, in their severely tattered casual wardrobes, trapped in bizarre poses seemed to call out to her.

While contemplating her tasks that were several and manifold, Dr. Coscolluela could still almost hear the lifeless forms about her, screaming, agonizing. How must they have felt over the onslaught of slugs from at least twenty five high-powered firearms, unable to believe and hoping that by the sound of their chords they might be spared the pain?

She could still picture the grim faces of the gunmen as they poured the hot metallic trajectories onto their prey. Minding not how some of these bodies were cut by half, some contorted beyond recognition while the others’ extremities were severed completely at the points of impact.

Beside her, Maj. Signes, was gesturing animatedly to his subordinates. He commanded the security team backing up her first response team. As he did so, Janey caught his eyes keep darting towards her direction and appeared more than just to approve her deep tan.

Ramon's eyes later followed Jane as she walked toward the operations tent, got busy sorting out tags that the corpses would be identified with. He and Janey were together in Dili, East Timor after the cessation of hostilities and declaration of Timorese Independence. They had both been given citations by Shanana Gusmao himself.

Beneath the doctor's lab coat, Janey wore a nicely tailored suit that enhanced her wonderful curves. She was ravishingly beautiful, in spite of the gruesome sight that surrounded them all in this island.

Looking at the lady doctor, Ramon distinctively knew he had felt something even from back in Dili. However he knew that was something significant, and an issue that would rather have to wait for another day. Anyhow he liked what he saw and he felt good. Janey was a wonderful individual and he could spend hours and hours being with her again like they did after work in Timor, but for the fact that he would only look around him and realize it was hardly the time to flirt.

Meanwhile his conscious mind turned its attention to the beeping of his cellular phone equipped with a small contraption to boost his cell phone’s antenna. He talked momentarily with his brother, Walfredo, an engineer who was working on a building contract in Makati City - the Philippine’s main financial district. Then he called his friend in Manila, Lt. Col. Eugene David to tell him about what he was suddenly involved in. A suspected terrorist attack that killed more than one hundred persons.

Ramon closed his mobile, waved his hand to call three of his staff, reminded and instructed them on what needed to be done in the next few hours.

At the end of the day, Major Signes and one of his men, Sgt. Crispin Rapeno approached Janey inquiring if there was something they could help her with. She apprised them as to her progress and asked them if they could pitch in with certain chores that have to do with formal notification procedures — the arduous task of identification and giving notice to the relatives of all of the casualties who were identified here.

“My dear Major,” she said with her usual strong voice that Ramon knew from Dili, “if I won't be asking too much from you, our Australian-Filipino medic team under the International Red Cross are really hard pressed to handle such matters any further with our hands full of work. Would the army kindly ...”

“Air Force, Jane ... ” he interjected.

“Oh yeah, ha ha!” Janey let out a forced laugh. “Sorry, I keep forgetting.”

“Gladly, of course. Just tell us boys what to do.” Janey did and they set off to work on their tasks later getting glued to their cellular phones and the military radio glad to be of help to the response team beyond their security mandate.

After everyone retired to the mess tent set up for the entire response and security teams, Dr. Janey Coscolluella came back to Major Signes and Sgt. Rapeno again. Her fellow doctors gave her a short time-out that she asked for before supper.

“Oh, sorry again, Major, would the Air Force be kind enough to get the needed help from whatever source it may be able to find ... about the water situation here?” Saluag Island, Janey’s people reported after conducting a survey of the island escorted by Air Force personnel, that there was no potable water source in the immediate area.

“Certainly that had partly been arranged, Jane. We have supply for at least five meals for all of us, and then that would be resupply time.” Signes smiled at her and when she was smiling back, he turned his back before she could see him blushing.

“But we need a lot of water for washing at the doctor’s tent.” Jane called at him when he started to step away.

Maj. Signes could not hide his blushing face anyway, “Oh! Of course! We are set up for that too.” He raised his thumbs up and went to hurriedly fetch his communications sergeant allowing Janey that moment to giggle. She had hoped for a little adversarial tone from the security commander, but decided against that thinking that perhaps there was something else she stumbled upon instead. Maj. Ramon Signes used to shout back at the Australian officers back in Dili when he was given multiple orders at one time and commanded to comply with them yesterday.

She placed her hands on her pockets and managed to get back to her work relieved of some of the tension she was earlier experiencing and glad of it. The bodies were several days old and there was little time left before their serious and accelerated decomposition would begin; no one could ever bear taking it lightly then. That is why they had to work longer hours. No reinforcements seemed to have come early.

As he went back to ground zero, Maj. Signes noted that the aircraft indeed bore no outward signs of being vandalized, nor ruined, but all of its cargo was hauled away. That was the report he got from his security team. The avionics and all the other sections were totally cannibalized. The seats, the carpet, even the upholstering material on the walls were gone. Not even the cabin light bulbs were spared. All cargo bays lay open, stripped bare of contents. The looters swept the entire plane of its commercial cargo as well.

The plane was practically empty on the inside. Not that neither the passengers nor its crew would complain anyhow. In grotesque poses they lay on the beach of this nearly uninhabited area of the Sulu archipelago. It seemed as if the victims, who by the last count numbered 180 in all including the crew desperately tried to shield, to even perhaps comfort, each other from death that appeared most certain.

Nearly a hundred feet away, the other aircraft left little room for imagination. It was in complete disarray. It would take an expert team from the United States federal agency called the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to piece together the evidence at hand to come up with a decent assessment of what happened to the second air plane.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter I

2004-11-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER ONE

Yakan (locally pronounced as Ee-yah-kan) are an old tribal people, legendarily known in the south of the Philippine Islands as a classic nomadic tribe. The Yakan used to be a proud people. They converted from their supposed paganism, to Islam, around the 10th - 12th centuries A.D. by conquering Tausugs (a neighboring tribe in Southwest Mindanao at the near tip of the Phillippine Archipelago) and other more advanced and powerful tribes of Southern Philippines that much earlier, embraced the Islamic faith.

Many uneducated Yakan say, there is a story about the curse of the Dagger of the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) that was said to have been lost in the hands of a Datu or Chieftain of the Yakan Tribe. The object was supposedly entrusted to the Datu for safekeeping by the Prophet’s fifth descendant —— who, among others, before his final sojourn to China, first took the opportunity to propagate the Prophet’s lineage and the faith of Islam in the South.

Due to the loss, it is said, even the Datus of the Yakans shall be looked upon with disfavor by Al’lah and will suffer impoverishment beyond their imagination. Because of their long-held belief in such myth, illiterate Yakans placed themselves in slave servitude to the other tribes for care and protection. In case poverty grips them, they will not suffer.

The story goes that generations and generations of unlettered Yakan followed this ritual, knocking upon the doors of their fellow Islamic faithfuls and seeking refuge from the unfolding of their cursed existence.

Some misguided Yakan tribesmen who were benefited with a modicum of education felt challenged and irreverently wanted the story turned upside down. They formed a cult — calling themselves the People of the Chosen Tribe — for indeed, did not the Prophet’s direct descendant provide them the occasion to safeguard one of the most holy relics of the Faith?

They formed a small band that went around, telling their friends and kin what it would be like to change the way the Yakan tribe should behave as a community. They would meet favor with radical missionaries from Pakistan who roamed Southern Philippines, trying to propagate Islam who introduced themselves as the JAMA’AT TABLIQUE.

This encounter with the Tablique, encouraged them further. They engaged in debates, discussions and other fora, rallying the people to the concept of social and image change or as they called it in Arabic, faurat. They will conduct themselves in a manner that befits the new Yakans. There shall be a revolution. They will blame the kafir as The Noble Qur’an Al Kareem calls the unbelievers for all the misery that have befallen their tribe. They who have oppressed them and made them stoop down to the lowest level. And the tribe shall go to war against them.

At the time, the tide turned against the Russian armed forces that occupied Kabul and many other parts of the “mountain” nation. Soon they were ordered by the Soviet Union to go back home.

Yakan – together with a considerably large number of non-Muslims volunteered to become mujahideen and fought side by side with the Afghan rebels. They have come home. Accompanying them home, were their non-Muslim brothers-in-arms —— former guerilla soldiers of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ military arm, the New People’s Army —— but who were now without a revolutionary organization to go home to. Their leader back in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Wadn Hassan and the organization they used to serve, however bit the hand that used to feed them. He now had a new faith. He had become vehemently anti-American. Many of the Yakan and their companions had thought Wadn Hassan was in the right path.

Upon their return, a good number of them, the Yakan and the non-Muslims in small groups sought the mountains. Mostly they came down from their mountain lairs only for a specific purpose: They search and purchase firearms. They had enormous savings from their compensation for fighting other people’s wars in U.S. dollars as mujahideens; they purchased weapons mostly saying, only for use in self-defense. The you-know-how-it-is-here-in-Mindanao attitude and the possession of firearms as a status symbol actually got them a number of big, powerful guns. In a few parts south of the Philippine Islands, that is even an understatement.

The former mujahideens continued the same kind of existence they had in the Afghan mountains and in the rugged terrains of upper Pakistan regions. The non-Muslims now had different names; they had evidently converted into Islam because of their need to be hired as Muslim fighters. In public however, they were never seen to be spiritually inclined, neither religious; they simply displayed the mien of Filipino overseas workers who travelled abroad to earn money for a living — and spent their money or the usual fare and had a little good time upon returning home.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At the Aguinaldo Golf Clubhouse, Lt. Col. Eugene David, was celebrating his birthday alone early as he turns forty today. Among those he spent most of the time with now, no one showed ny signs that they knew about his birthday. Eugene didn't care about it himself at this time since he was deeply troubled by his circumstances.

Joselito, the longest-serving waiter at the Clubhouse's restaurant, surprised him by remembering today's significance: "Happy Birthday Col. David, Sir!"

"My goodness, Lits, stop talking bad words!" and they laughed out loud for no one in particular since the restaurant didn't have any patrons at the time. It was barely 10:00 AM and Eugene had already finished a flight over a few holes in the Camp Emilio Aguinaldo Golf Club's fairway greens. Earlier in the same morning, he had practiced his swing hard on the driving range. He thought he was having a grand time. He woke up to a very pleasant weather, the sun seemed to smile at him and despite some disturbing nasty business from the past, he was feeling very ebullient and eager to enjoy what this today would bring.

He settled on a chair Joselito indicated for him near the entrance to the pantry. The always cheerful waiter immediately gave him two newspapers stamped with COMPLIMENTARY COPY EAGC. After he scanned the headlines, he called an orderly to fetch a brown leather bag that his Aunt Crissie sent to him from the States. His aunt lived in Florida with her husband who retired from the U.S. Navy a year earlier. Uncle Wainwright was now into the computers business and on the side, he consulted with companies like Raytheon, McDonnell Douglas and other aviation companies.

Taking the bag from the orderly, Eugene handed a fifty peso tip and took out a portable laptop computer. This computer he took from his aunt's gift leather bag from last Christmas was not from his uncle though. He bought it himself out of a loan from the Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association and suffered large deductions on his pay for many months. While killing time, he booted the machine and surfed a site where the day's news headlines from the biggest international dailies and broadcasting companies were shown.

While he did think about leaving the Service sometimes because of the exceedingly low pay, he was prevented from filing for "RC/RCS" (resigned commission/revert-to-civilian-status) orders by moonlighting as a technical writer and part owner in a friend's very lucrative consultancy outfit servicing foreign investment banking companies. Occasionally, his friend would personally give him a hefty check. It didn't fail to stop him from contemplating his long-due escape from the Army.

Aside from graduating from the US Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, Eugene had a Master's degree in Business Administration from Ateneo de Manila University, citations as exemplary student and another Master's diploma from the London School of Economics, a Certificate in Development Management from the Asian Institute of Management, among many other qualifications that could even make regular Filipino banker's credentials pale in comparison.

Still and all, he had a string of certificates of completion and citations as top performer in courses on special operations from various military educational institutions like the Army Training Command, Philippine Army, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ATC, PA AFP); the airborne special course at the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) in Fort Benning, Georgia; the special forces underwater operations course at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (JFK SWCS) at Fort Bragg, NC, USA; defense economic resources and logistics management at the Defense Systems Management Center, Defense Logistics Agency, Department of Defense (DSMC, DLA DoD) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia as well as a slew of other specialization seminars and workshops.

Eugene still paid the bill and left his much delayed meal uneaten. Maria was head first class section crew for the Saudi Air. She asked him to join pay her a visit at the Manila Hotel and join her for dinner; she had just come home from another long flight.

Eugene and Maria were childhood friends and at one time were lovers. They stayed friends after their break up and never stopped seeing each other — enjoying one another’s company. Maria asked him to order coffee first at the Café Sampaguita of the hotel. Not having read the news for the day yet when he was interrupted by Maria's invitation, Eugene did not bother to take some of the complimentary papers from the rack as the waiter was taking his order. He simply took the brown leather bag he brought with him and brought out his portable computer and opened the cache containing the sites he had surfed earlier back at the Aguinaldo Golf Club's restaurant.

The headlines from one or two days ago, were still the fare of the day.

181 DEAD IN MINDANAO; TERRORISTS SUSPECTED
Delon Yang
The Taiwan Express

POSSIBLE MINDANAO TERRORIST ATTACK KILLED 181
Vivian Smith
International Herald Tribune

RUTHLESS MINDANAO MASSACRE; 181 DEAD
Keith Guillerman
London Standard

TERRORISTS KILL 181 IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES
Gary Suzumo
Okinawa Shimbun

SUSPECTED TERRORISTS KILL 181 IN MINDANAO
by Celina Santos
CMN International

181 DEAD IN SOUTH PHILIPPINES MASSACRE
by Tarjan Singh
India Daily Observer

TERRORISTS STRIKE AGAIN IN MINDANAO
by Lorraine Esteves
Madrid Diario Espejo

Slouching in his chair, his hand felt his stomach turning sour at the banner stories from the various dailies. From his side vision, he watched five little children romping in the guests' swimming pool of Manila Hotel. They were happily laughing and shouting. He resented his sudden leaden feeling. It appears to be a wonderful day and it was his birthday after all. But he couldn't help feeling sullen at all. Yesterday he got a call from Ramon, one of his very best friends in the military. Ramon was with the Philippine Air Force and a certified lunatic. But while Ramon had a terrible temper, Eugene put up with him everytime. Flyboy Ram was somewhere in the Basilan Island group and told him about the disfigured bodies they found in an island called Saluag.

Ram said that he was heading the security contingent and a whole army of Australian and Filipino volunteers were at the site.

“Why Aussies?”

“Because they happened to be in an International Red Cross Workshop at Mandarin Hotel when the word got out. And the several Aussie embassies in Manila, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia were also in teleconference at the time with their foreign minister and they suspected some of their nationals were included among those who were found dead at the island. That’s why.” Ramon reported.

“Why so many people?” Eugene asked his friend.

“I really don’t know yet. We’ll try to find out as much as we can and I’ll be back for resupply in a few days.”

“Meet me when you’re in town then,” Eugene said, aching to know more about what happened so far from where he was comfortably placed.

“I suppose that would be doing the impossible. This thing’s a mess. Lot of stuff to take care of. But I'll definitely call you. Mr. Terrorism Expert, Specialist, Teacher and Master. I bet you can help me big in this one. Start calling your long line of adorers and admirers in the Logistics office.” They both laughed at that, just.

“Okay then,” Eugene said then punched the red colored off key. He smiled at Ramon's effort to seek his help without saying it in so many words. His friend never hid the fact that he had too much pride in him and that his temper was the worst part of him. But Eugene thought, that was one of Ram's traits that made him very endearing, because he was conscious of it and carried it without making it a hang-up of his personality. Ramon was very keen about it and while he was always quick to take offense he was also fast on the repartee.

Somehow he felt blood from his system drained. He probably needed breakfast, he thought to himself. And lunch, since it was now way past morning.

As he did, he looked at Maria slide into the seat in front of him giving him a start when she slapped his free hand on the table.

“Birthday boy! You look freaked out! Hah! I can’t believe steady and stable Eugene is suddenly out of his element! What’s the matter with you?”

He simply smiled and half-rose to kiss Maria who offered her right cheek.

They held hands for seconds and sat back down.

“So what’s new with you dear?"

Eugene told her the story of how he had nothing better to do when she called. That Ram -- who was their mutual friend -- was in Mindanao, in an island called Saluag. That he and his benefactor and mentor Major General Gerveron, had burned their bridges. He said he had no command at the moment just because. He kept making gestures when he bantered about light subjects in between and Maria laughed at him.

At Maria's prodding, Eugene got food for both of them from the buffet section and picked on his plate as Maria fielded him with a lot of questions.

Maria didn't seem to want having lunch. She would however make a sign for one vodka and tonic, within just minutes of the other. She forked a bit of the fruit, cheese, some vegetables that she dipped in cream from the plate Eugene got for her from the buffet. Then she felt her face began to blush. Eugene observed here pale colored cheeks grow rosy. He also saw that her lips had somewhat expanded. Must be my imagination, he thought.

Maria felt tipsy, but tried to keep her head straight. She realized she'd been licking her lips more often. Time to go to my room, she told herself. "Will you want to keep me company?" She asked silently, but the she didn't hear the words.

“You’re trying very hard not to let your depression affect me. That’s what I like about you, Euge. Of course, among many other things. You're good in the sack, and that's not why I broke up with you. You know. Thank you, but I am terribly sorry things turned sour between you and the Giant.”

Maria could be very frank. Eugene felt his face blushing when he noticed people at the hotel restaurant glance in their direction.

Maria laughed again, the sound of her laughter even louder. “I guess its time to tell my story too, Euge. I'd like you to take me up on an offer to spend a week, no! A month, on vacation. I promise I'm paying for both of us. I'll foot all the bill.”

“Wha...?” Eugene was flabbergasted. Now nearly everyone was looking and staring, the glances no longer just enough.

“Stop! Don't say anything. You don't have an assignment, you're on floating status. Well, that makes two of us.” Then her voice dropped to a whisper, as if she was revealing the century's secret. “I'm leaving Saudia. There's a whole lot of trouble in Saudia, and even the one in the papers is a part of that.”

Eugene's mouth went agape and he could not speak for a whole minute. Now that was hard. Maria loved her job, as far as he knew. She considered flying an obsession and now this. Then Maria slumped in her seat sighing. She thought the pitch was regrettable. She should've softened Eugene first. But then Eugene reached out and caught her little finger and said yes without thinking. Maria's smile went up to her ears, as if she hadn't acted like she lost all her money in a card game a moment ago. Then they both started laughing hard.

The hotel guests hadn't stopped looking at them now. But they were exchanging glances. From their faces the waiters could almost discern that the patrons were communicating as if telling each other "What a lucky man that one is! What a truly lucky man!" And even the waiters agreed to their eye speak. Eugene caught two of them exchanging thumbs up signs with the guests.

After doing what he did, agreeing to go with Maria, Eugene thought he didn't hurt anyhow at all. This relationship never suffered him on anything at all when they were on. It was a beautiful relationship that only their distance kept apart and made them lonely, yearning to move forward. To what and where, no one really knew. So why not, again? Shortly after Maria signaled for the check and charged the meals and coffee to her room bill, they went up to her room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter II

2004-11-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER 2

Daily Union News Headquarters
2002

Philippines was in the news now more than ever. The international media was awash with headlines about nearly one hundred dead journalists.

Felicitas Arrantez, front page editor of The Daily Union, was scratching something off her head with her letter opener while talking with her nephew, Rico, who was the Union’s computer geek. They manage to get desks near each other all the time, the ANS --- Aunt and Nephew Section, they were called.

“My, my! They really put us on the spot this time! Look at all these articles and features! My goodness!!!” Felice gasped.

“We’re even more unpopular than the Kling-ons of Star Trek, Tita Felice. Will you stop punishing your scalp, Tita? Your dandruff is falling all over the place. And you're wearing a black blouse, it shows,” Rico said.

Felice suddenly stopped her fingers. “Okay, okay. That's the fiftieth time you reminded me in one week. Anyway, what was I saying? Ah! What the hell do these people think they are doing killing all those poor writers?” Felice asked, as if to herself alone, oblivious to her nephew now.

“They're not people to me Tita."

“Those Abu el-Saif bandits surely want more than just ransoms from their kidnappings. Now they really want to make it big in publicity too! Look at how the news spread like wildfire across the globe.” Cicero Karangalan butted in, interrupting Felice’s habitual reveries. He was one of the Union’s most erudite columnists. He never used to write, but the bug bit him hard and suddenly, he had to fork in his contribution to the Union’s printing load everyday.

Rico looked up at him and smiled. He admired Cicero who doted upon him like a son. And he's really brilliant, Rico believed. He wondered though why Tita Felice never went with Cicero on the date he's been asking for, for already a hundred years he used to complain.

“Oh, hi Ces!” Felice greeted her long time admirer, perennial suitor, and good friend, the Union Wordsmith and Walking Encyclopedia as Cicero was affectionately called behind his back.

“Hello, beautiful,” Cicero winked at lady he had long fancied to be his wife.

Rico read from his computer: “ ‘Whereas dictatorships killed journalists one by one, in the Philippines they kill them by the hundreds,’ ‘Journalists are executioners’ fodder in the Philippine Islands,’ ‘Killing Journalists a pasttime in Mindanao,’ ‘They massacre Journalists in the Philippines,’ newspaper banners and write-ups scream the same topic.

“Failure of intelligence,” Cicero snorted.

“No offense, Ces, but is it really? Is that what it is? We are to blame for what those terrorists suddenly decide to do?” Felice flared.

Cicero was on the defensive, “Not us Fel. The military. The police. The NBI. The President, even.” He smiled wanly at his weak reply.

Felice suddenly hears herself laughing and cussing at the same time, “Ha haaa!!! Shit!!!”

Cicero took out a folded sheet of paper from his wallet and read:

" 'Our worry should be these hardcore groups that are calling themselves freedom fighters, liberation fronts, separatist movements and so forth. By their acts they manifest themselves as purely and plainly as mere coldblooded killers, sociopaths. It even becomes trite just to call them terrorists. These are the wretched of humanity. They worship mayhem, chaos, fear and disorder. And now comes this macabre massacre of almost a hundred innocent members of the media.' I wrote this at the house but I think I would not even want to publish this in my column tomorrow. Makes me sick." he said. "I honestly can't agree with you more, son." he patted Rico on the head while looking forlorn at Felice.

"Well, my dear, its your call. But I like that piece. Let me see it?"

Cicero handed over the article. Then excused himself. On his way to his desk, he was beaming with pride. Then he thought, why did I ever say that article makes me sick?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Even at her thirty five summers, Dr. Coscolluela’s experience in these macabre scenes were the closest that she could get to an MCI (mass casualty incident) in the jargon of SAR (Search and Rescue) community, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Crescent, Israel's Magon David Adom and all the others in it. She had never actually been in a mass casualty incident before in her life. Or had gone anywhere near one after the fact. Oh, she had her fill of videos, power point presentations, still photos of MCIs from everywhere. But this one really gets to her.

She was not in the Ormoc disaster where more than 8,000 people lay dead in the wake of a huge water and log stampede because some powerful people dug for gold in the tip of an enormous mountain in the island province of Leyte -- famously known as the home province of former Philippine First Lady Mrs. Imelda Marcos; in the same incident in Mindoro Oriental where hundreds perished – again in a log stampede that no one wanted to admit was caused by the illegal logging of the province’s governor; later on, of course she came to Dili. But she had never seen more mangled and badly beaten bodies than this one here in Saluag.

It had been more than seventeen months ago now, when the East Timor situation stabilized — or almost, as they used to kid themselves back there then — as she had arrived at Dili. What she caught up with were the returning batches of military servicemen and a few civilians ending their observation and humanitarian assistance tour in the former Dutch and later Indonesian colony.

The Dili massacre was a thing of the past when she arrived there. She just had mere glimpses of what transpired in the caked blood on the cemetery, the gruesome colored photos at the Australian armed forces-led Head Quarters for the United Nations Task Force on East Timour.

Those pictures made her freeze at the instant she saw them and her innards tumbled. It brought her back to the days before she became a full-fledged doctor at the Inter-Faith World Catechistic Institute (IFWCI) when she and her batch mates formed the Metro Tagaytay City Emergency Response Team. Back then, she got to see the morbid and gory evidences of human pain and injury. She was thankful for the East Timor assignment and wondered why she had to be pulled out suddenly and with the Australian and Filipino doctors outside of the new state. Of course she was a well-respected volunteer of the International Red Cross.

On the helicopter ride to Saluag, however, she rationalized that the Timorese now, far well enough away from true normalcy in their day-to-day lives, are a little more well-off and fortunate than her own fellow Filipinos. Her countrymen are getting to be in a very depressing situation at the moment. The fact that at that time, she did enjoy her stay in Timor, betrayed the change in the mood. The assignment did her good.

Now it is actually Indonesia’s turn to look for succor. In response to the alleged genocide that the erstwhile Indonesian armed forces Chief of Staff General Prabowo Subianto perpetrated, the surviving kin of the victims created vigilante groups out to defend themselves against Prabowo’s troops in the special elite forces, Kopassus, and Kostrad.

The vigilantes gained sympathizers from the People’s Democratic Party (PRD). Student demonstrations marred Indonesia’s otherwise already relatively calm cities (after the Timorese affair) especially following the world renowned Trisakti killings. Then severe hostilities would erupt in Aceh, followed by the now infamous Jema’ah Islamiyyah bombings.

The perpetrators promised there would be more. And there might have been. Eventually she learned from Major Signes that Singapore went into a frenzy of an anti-terrorist crackdown after another MCI – seen the world over – in New York where the historic twin towers of the World Trade Center and a whole wing of the Pentagon were razed to the ground by terrorists using commandeered jet liners as big bombs.

Not too long after, a series of bombings took place in many parts of the globe since, with more of them popping in Israel. In her own country, The Philippines, a series of arrests continue to be made.

Indonesian Fathurrahman al Ghazy was discovered in The Philippines to be hiding at least one ton of bomb component — nitrate, they called it — and hundreds of detonating devices meant to be shipped to Singapore and other destinations. Not a small number of Filipino accomplices who confessed to knowing and working with Al Ghazy were also rounded up.

At some time in the past, two things had been happening south of the Philippine archipelago and very close to where she was now: More than 1,000 Americans soldiers went deep into joint training exercises called “Balikatan 02-1” with Filipino soldiers in Basilan Island nearby while in Zamboanga City, foreigners Malcolm Key, Marie Treacle, Ron Veel, Arminda Vaeter, Scotty O’Donnell, Duke Hanesferd, Mizu Kawashige, Masuko Kahizude, Tanaka Ikeban and Marishita Kaizen, among others, were mentioned in the news to be holding an international observers’ mission on possible human rights violations being committed in the process of the vaunted training exercises.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As the days and years passed, Brig. Gen. Semeon Aguilar looked back at that day. His memory of it almost fading into the deeper realms of his subconscious. He still could not miss the mixed emotion of being amused and puzzled at the same time. He would not learn about Operation Black Scimitar then, never did. But neither would the late National Security Council (NSC) Project Manager Richard Gloria who had recently died in an ambush after receiving his promotion to NSC Director.

Like Aguilar, Brig. Gen. Nieto Jabbon, a highly decorated soldier, at the very same time was also looking back at those days when the group they had helped form, then just a small, fledgling group of bandits had now become big. So big and too difficult to handle, like their leader Muhammad bin Wadn Hassan. His partner Col. Dolor died recently and he suspected it was because those bandits had grown into a huge monstrous glob.

Brigadier Generals Aguilar and Jabbon shivered at the possibility that they could probably be unaware the price for involvement in the operation was now being collected and someone was making a good job of it. Jabbon tried to perish the thought. So did Aguilar. But deep in their guts, the both of them, thinking at the same time from two places that were far from each other, felt terribly afraid.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mariko wandered away from the mortuary operational response command post, nearly thirty of the warped bodies passing through her hands as the case anthropologist. She felt slightly sick deep inside her. Yet she knew had not seen the last of it. This was a job to be done and back home in Japan she was well trained for it.

She knew deep in her heart that the job was difficult.

Mariko took something from her pocket. It was a minute diary she had kept for a long time inside her purse where she listed in her native Japanese language, in Hiragana script. She had painstakingly updated the accounts in her diary from time to time. The project began when she was only fourteen, encouraged by her own mother who had been a UN health worker who had been shot at, had figured in a land mine explosion, but survived. Unfortunately, now she had been sick from a parasite that she also got in the line of duty.

Her father, was the chief pastor of a large Shinto sect. She herself doubted her own affiliation to her dad and mom's common religion. But she remained faithful and loving to both of them.

Some of the casualties suffered by her fellow Red Cross volunteer workers and by those in its sister aid organization, the Red Crescent were patiently recorded in her journal as she found them in whatever source she got hold of. Each time she surfs the internet or runs through the micro-fiche library in her school, in her hometown's public library, she took time to search for these historical tidbits.

She would never stop reading and rereading the little book. Its entries grew over the years. The items she wrote in it did not follow a chronological order. She merely kept tabs of the incidents as she found them. Ironic as it seemed, it gave her one of the reasons why she had kept going back to the Japan Red Cross office as a guest and finally to apply as a trainee and then an aid worker. Later, such as on this day, it served as way for affirming the compassionate and courageous vocation that members and volunteers like her have dedicated themselves to.

June 1996. Three Red Cross workers killed in Zaire when unidentified gunmen attacked a supply depot of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies near Goma in eastern Zaire. One Zairean United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) security guard also slain in the attack and four others injured.

September 1996. Two Red Cross workers killed in Zaire. The workers were from the Red Cross Society of the Republic of Zaire (ZRC). Three others lost their legs to amputation. They were on board a bus that hit a land mine near Goma, Eastern Zaire.

June 1996. Red Cross worker killed in Uganda. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) suspended activities in Koboko, North Uganda, after rebels attacked their base. Nine other people died in the attack.

June 5, 1996. Another one-day suspension of aid operations in Burundi. This was a sign of sympathy by IFRC with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) whose three delegates were killed when their vehicles were ambushed on the previous day.

January 1996. Two Red Cross staff members were ambushed in Angola on different occasions.

20 November 1997. Red Cross volunteers placed themselves in harm's way -- serving the public -- while fighting between warring groups raged in Brazzaville, capital of Congo.

12 September 1997. Two Red Cross workers killed in Rwanda when their vehicle was ambushed on the road between Nkamira and Gisenyi. The driver, Shabani Nsanzebahiga and Mr. Bucyensenge, a member of the local Kanama Red Cross committee, were escorting an employee of the Ministry of Youth, Miss Espérance, from the Red Cross youth camp in Nkamira to hospital in Gisenyi. She was also killed.

29 August 1997. Two IFRC delegates evacuated from Pointe-Noir, Congo due to the violence in the area. They flew to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

14 February 1997. Eight aid workers were killed and a general escalation of violence in the past three weeks has been observed. IFRC reduces its staff from Kigali, Rwanda, due to the violence. Twenty-five delegates were scheduled to go to Nairobi. Only six delegates will remain in Kigali to maintain the delegation until operations return to normal.

11 June 1998. A Red Crescent worker of Sudan, Magboul Mamoun, was killed with two employees from the World Food Programme when their vehicle was ambushed Tuesday 9 June.

November 1999. Red Cross and Red Crescent suffer a major drop in global volunteer force. In the last decade, the worldwide volunteer force of the Red Cross and Crescent dropped by more than 50 per cent. Over nine years, number of members and volunteers dropped from 220 million to 105 million since 1990.

November 1999. Six Magen David Adom emergency health workers were injured.

7 March 2002. A Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedic, Ibrahim Assad, killed in his ambulance in Tulkarem, in northern part of West Bank by Israeli army fire while responding to an emergency call.

7 March 2002. Another paramedic, Kamal Hamdan from the United Nations (UNRWA), was also killed in the incident. Two PRCS emergency medical technicians (EMT) injured. Assad is the third Red Cross worker killed in the violence that began in September 2000.

4 March 2002. Dr. Khalil Sulieman, Head of Palestine Red Crescent Society Emergency Medical Service in Jenin was killed. Four other Palestine Red Crescent paramedics, and a volunteer, were injured in the incident.

October 2000. EMT Bassam Balbeisi, was killed in Gaza while trying to save two civilians caught in cross-fire between Palestinians and Israelis.

September - October 2000. Total Palestine Red Cross Society volunteers and personnel injured since September 2000: 140.

After her last entry, there were a still a lot of blank pages. But the last page of the diary contained a short poem:

a breeze comes. a soft voice calls in a whisper;

the sky is a blur, the earth moves. i listen.

then it becomes clear, the sound: oh it is nothing

it's just death, visiting.

Mariko's attention snapped back to the present. The last victim Mariko worked was the peculiar one. Found at the spot about a hundred meters away from the main heap, the disfigured, headless female lay on the table, all shot up with lead they say was from an M-14 rifle. Mariko and the others counted at least thirty eight punctures and more than twenty exit wounds from the woman's legs up to her neck. Besides the punctures injuries, there were four large wounds from a sharp blade.

Earlier before the paramedics transferred her to the command post, Mariko noticed there was a number of minute compact discs littered beside her incongruous frame. Mariko, who was the first to investigate her corpse then, had called upon a female technician to take the CDs to the forensic tent.

Mariko hadn't been able to speak to Rhea, the young techie who lifted the CDs anymore. After the incident, the newcomer at the Air Force Rescue Squadron was suddenly recalled to her home unit. However, she did speak with Ramon and she was told that the discs were from a miniature but powerful digital video camera. Major Signes mentioned that it had up to 500 or even more Mega Pixels resolution -- which Mariko appreciated.

"That is amazing for mini videocam Sir!" she said excitedly. "Must be expensive," she said and Ramon said, "Could only be a spy using that kind camera."

"Yes Sir, and I think images must have be a clear images. Yes?"

"Oh, they are very clear indeed. And the faces of the terrorists are on the discs, nearly every one of them. It appears that the people killed here were secretly held hostages for at least 60 hours -- well, according to the tapes. Then they were killed when they learned from where they kidnapped them that a search party was launched by sixteen governments."

"Oohh! Good! Good!" was all Mariko could say then.

While she walked along the undisturbed part of the beach, Mariko’s hand felt for her cell phone that was in vibrate mode and silently indicating she had a call. Unbuttoning the phone’s holster, she promptly said, “Moshi, moshi. Hai! Otousan!” Her father.

In seconds, Mariko’s disposition changed from concerned to insecure.

“Hai. Dame, dame, otousan!”

“Hitori ja nai, otousan!”

“Ai shi teru, otousan!”

She replaced the cellular phone in the holster at her hip and clipped the button back.

Tears welled in her eyes while she turned back and met Janey. Her instinct was to hug someone, lean on a shoulder and cry out her problem.

“Dr. Jane, my mother just died!” Mariko cried out. She was about to run off to her tent but Janey embraced her.

Janey consoled her, “Do you wish to attend the service for your mother?”

Mariko shook her head, “Actually, it would being more painful. For me more pain. My mother and me Mariko, we very close. But father disapproved my going with Red Cross? He dislike me coming here....”

Jane hugged Mariko again whose frail body was rocking with sobs. “It’s alright Mari, I’ll be here for you. We'll all be here for you.” Jane. The strong, firm voice gone. All feminine and caring. Mariko hugged Jane back hard and forgot where she was. It was for a brief moment, the end of the world for her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter III

2004-11-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER 3

The Holy City of Marawi

Mindanao, The Philippines
1989

Two very well-dressed prospectors came to Mindanao around the period between year 1989 and 1990. Their intention: to find good material for a new breed of Muslim leader and a new band of raiders.

The cause for their Mindanao trip: a very high ranking official ordered them to make an offer of a huge sum to be paid each month to a retired professor from the biggest academic institution in Marawi City, the Mindanao State University (MSU). Prof. Mahour Badir Al-Julabi was approached at the lobby of the MSU.

“Sir, we were sent by Cimarron. He said we will find you here in Marawi City.”

The Professor looked up at the two large young men and nodded. “I see. How is the boss?”

“He is fine Prof.” Then the two visitors remembered they still have to introduce themselves. “Sir, I am Aguilar and my companion here, Richard would like to have a word with you.”

“Atty. Gloria, Sir. You can call me Ricky.”

“So what brings you here to the Holy City of Marawi?” The Professor took the extended hand of the second prospector.

The man, who called himself Atty. Gloria, nervously licked his lips and plucked a small tickler pad from his pocket, making motions of browsing through its pages. He was about to speak when the Professor said, “I will be candid with you Richard. Ricky, isn’t it?”

Atty. Richard Gloria said, “Yes, Sir. Correct, Sir.”

“You don’t look like an attorney to me? Please go straight to the point. I don’t care what your name is. Do you have something for me from Cimarron?”

The first man fished for something inside the pouch bag that was strapped on his shoulder and gave it to the Professor. The man who said he was Atty. Gloria gaped at the old man. He seemed to realize from the old man's words that Cimarron would not have entrusted such a delicate message verbally. So this must be a very trusted old fart, he thought to himself.

Prof. Al Julabi opened the sealed envelope and read:

November 29, 1989

Dear Juls,

I hope you’re fine when there when you get this note. I have a little proposal that I wish you would like. For P2-M a month budget, I want you organize and lead a new Islamic movement in Mindanao to help government bring down the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MNLF and MILF). They will be given exposure in Pakistan, Afghanistan and later everywhere that you have contacts in. You will report only to me and no one else. This will be entered as a strategic project. In any case please relay the answer to my men. Please destroy this note.

Cimarron

Prof. Al Julabi placed the letter in the envelope and gently closed it. For a few seconds, he closed his eyes as if in prayer. The he placed the envelope inside his leather bag and turned his gaze to the two men who were animatedly having a conversation about the lovely girls in Zamboanga as soon as their business in Marawi is over.

The good professor thought about the scheme. He predicted the project the Cimarron was proposing would be the cause of another bloody escapade by the government’s gamut of security forces. He knew of course, it was also a way of making money for some of them. In his heart, he already knew that he would decline. He took out his 3-ringed diary and tore a page and wrote his answer.

Picking out a used envelope from his leather file case, he smudged the typescript on the address space and the upper left portion bearing the name of the sender with his sign pen. The two prospectors came to him, sensing that he had something for them.

The Attorney person looked at the professor who seemed to be glaring at him. Attorney person simply lowered his gaze pretending to look at his partner's hands which were now ready to receive the old man's note for Cimarron.

As soon as they left with the response to Cimarron, they proceeded to the military camp at the outskirts of the Holy City and boarded a chopper that took them to Zamboanga City.

When the two arrived at a hotel in Zamboanga, a lady officer was around to receive their package, now a manila envelope with security markings FOR THE ADDRESSEE’S EYES ONLY and SAFEHAND. It was instantly shipped to the Philippine capital by way of a departing C-130 that had only recently completed fueling at the Zamboanga military base.

Back at the capital, Prof. Al-Julabi’s, letter was opened and read first by an aide. He reported the contents of the note to the huge consternation of the high government official Cimarron. At the time, the prospectors were having a good time. They were called directly by Cimarron and ordered to go back to the capital. They received a fierce scolding from Cimarron and his most trusted man, Col. Esconde.

Cimarron told the two, “I did not send you over there to give me this note. I do not want a “no” for an answer.”

“We are very sorry Sir! Our fault! We did not try to convince him.”

Cimarron was more furious, “Juls does not need convincing if he had already made up his mind. I gave you a long lecture in preparation for your trip. I told you specifically, not to give him my letter until you talked about the current situation and the need for funds in the movement!!!”

He berated and lambasted the prospectors for days on end.

After more than a week, when the two appeared in front of him again, Cimarron’s anger had simmered down. “I called you because I want you to go back there.”

“But, Sir...???” The two were visibly dismayed. “The good Professor, as you said, has made up his mind already and we could no longer convince him!”

“Neither could I.” Cimarron said.

The two looked at each other and merely nodded.

“But you can look for another candidate.”

Cimarron’s men appeared relieved and thrilled at the prospect of going back from where they left off in Zamboanga City. Those girls were really lovely and now we’re going back! Damn!!! One of them thought.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ramon and a combined team of local and foreign investigators from the Australian International Deployment Team (IDT) were looking at the photographs detailing the gunshot wounds of the victims. Examination of the punctures can determine the firearm and its caliber and along with it the type of bullet used.

Police Major Ellie Lovejoy, one of the IDT members from Australia, was studying a variety of evidence on five long makeshift crime laboratory tables that were assembled by his group.

Ramon addressed Ellie about the idea of the combined team’s plan to mount test shots of sample weapons that were recently brought by chopper from where, Ramon could not tell.

Ellie replied, “Agreed, Ramon. My team and yours are already preparing to make initial shot pattern examinations to find out the approximate distance at which the guns were fired. They will try to determine that by testing specific firearms and ammunition combinations at known distances.”

“Okay that is good, buddy.”

Major Lovejoy’s assistant Helen Wise came up from the path behind where Ramon stood and brandished two different firearms. One an AK – 47 and the other, an M-14. Both were high powered rifles and good for assault. “We are digging for whatever fired bullets we can find and the doctors are extracting slugs from the bodies as fast as they can. Everything else will have to be recovered at the scene. These will also be examined” she said.

“Thanks dear. I can’t do these all without you,” Ellie told his second in command.

Ellie explained to Ramon, “You see, the fired bullets will help eliminate possibilities by providing more general characteristics like the caliber and physical features of the rifling impressions and the places where the bullets came from.”

Then Helen filled in again for Ramon’s benefit, “As you will notice, Sir, Patrick and Graham there are already working some of the evidence we have at hand.”

Ramon observed that an initial small pile of slugs, evidence cartridges and shotshell casings were already being subjected by the Australian team members to microscopic study.

“Patrick is especially good at determining characteristics on these pieces of evidence bullets that can be compared to test-fired bullets from replicas of the suspect firearms to further zero in on the actual type of firearms of the perpetrators of the Saluag Island carnage,” Helen said.

Patiently, other members of the forensic team were gathering any and all available cartridge cases or shotshell casings. Again, Ramon was told, the examinations can determine the caliber or gauge, the maker and whether there are marks of value for comparison. The images of the cartridge cases and shotshell casings in question can be scanned into the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s worldwide database called DRUGFIRE.

Australia is able to access the FBI technology on a science and technology sharing program that began a few years back.

Through the DRUGFIRE, one is able to compare shotshell casings with evidence from other shooting incidents. The characteristics of these evidence cartridge cases and shotshell casings that can be seen on a microscope and can help to determine whether they were fired in a specific firearm.

Examining slugs also found and marked as evidence on the other hand, can determine the size of the shot, the gauge of the slug, and the maker. This also goes with the examinations of wadding components.

Gunshot residues deposited on the other evidence such as clothing will differ with the distance from the muzzle of the firearm to the target. The patterns of gunshot residues can be duplicated, but in this case not with a questioned firearm and ammunition combination but with replica firearms and bullets fired into test materials at known distances.

These patterns serve as a basis for estimating muzzle-to-body or muzzle-to-garment distances.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ultimately, the prospectors came back and travelled they did in many parts of Mindanao. After days and days of wandering over Davao City, Iligan City, Jolo, Sulu – sometimes hating the job that was given to them – in Zamboanga City where they took their rest and recreation, they chanced upon the movement called People of the Chosen Tribe. Their leader was giving a speech in a Muslim-dominant state university.

The prospectors listened with awe. Afterwards, with an interpreter in tow, they came to the small group where he was animatedly explaining something about jihad (war), kaadilan (justice), and the oppression from the kafir and the satrubs (the enemy and the infidels). At once, the prospectors called their highly placed superior. The superior, at the time, along with his trusted people, who were listening in to the call that was placed on speaker phone, decided finally they have their man. The superior called Cimarron said the man fits description of the one who shall stand in for Al-Julabi. Al-Julabi himself must go away.

Ecstatic while communicating with Cimarron, their superior officer and benefactor, the prospectors forgot where they were. They were giving each other high fives, already in the mood for celebrating. However, when they noticed everyone was looking at them, they realized the time was not right and they were definitely in a very wrong place.

On the same day of their monumental discovery and immediately getting the green light to approach the People of the Chosen Tribe leader, they thought about their assured promotions in the armed forces. That was where they belonged. The leader was intrigued by the strangers’ presence and volunteered to help them with anything they might probably want. The prospectors said they wanted nothing; they wanted no one except that they badly needed him, also to be their own leader in another, much bigger, much more successful movement.

That instantly got the leader’s attention. It didn’t take long; the leader was receptive to their scripted pitch. So the prospectors successfully negotiated with the leader and they inked an agreement with him on midnight of that day.

The leader considered the signing of the agreement a momentous decision. He went home, not saying anything. But all his kin around him noticed. He acted very strangely. He was certainly not himself. It was as if the jinns and the angels of Al’lah (S.W.H.) conspired to make something out of him that he was both afraid of and yet had been dearly aspiring for. A part of him said that he could, and that, he should take the challenge and become equal to it. The other part of him told him to run away from it. To give vent to his fears.... not to let himself be an instrument of anything other than the peaceable faith of Islam, but that did not happen.

He went to where the prospectors would take him. The part of him that dreamt of big things and a celebrated vindication for his people, had won.

For more than a year, he was gone. He had only the clothes at his back and nothing else. They forbid him from even bringing a bag, neither even just a small sachet of toothpaste in his pockets. They said he would not need anything. Everything will be provided for. Back home meanwhile, his friends and relatives were told stories by witnesses from the school about his having been recruited. Recruited for what and by whom, some had asked.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” His relatives exclaimed in defense. “It must only be for something truly important!”

“And those people who got him, must only be for Al’lah (S.W.H.) since nothing could be more significant.” Another said.

At times, they fought and quarreled over his journey. And on and on the stories went in their small enclave of scarcely educated men.

The leader of the People of the Chosen Tribe eventually went home, healthy muscle sinews now visible in his hands and in many parts of his body. In heavy sweat he walked the path toward the small house his relatives shared with him and his brothers. His hands greatly burdened by three huge bags that he was told to open only at home and in utmost secrecy, he arrived to eagerly awaiting relatives and neighbors. Although he was sternly instructed that were it possible, even those people whom he trust should never be able to even have a glimpse inside the bag.

Nevertheless, this did not happen. He returned home to consult with his competent and learned parents, in reality just foster parents. Only he and his brothers were alive. His parents earlier died of hunger and starvation.

He and his foster kin gathered around the bag. They were shocked and filled with glee when they saw more than two million Philippine pesos inside the bag in denominations of one thousand, five hundred and one hundred. Below the money, there were at least one hundred magazine clips of .45-cal ammunition. The two smaller bags contained twenty .45-cal pistols, holsters and leather belts with ammunition clip holders. Volumes of documents also packed side by side with the short firearms. One of his foster uncles said laughing, if they really want you to start a little war, they really, really thought of everything!

Suddenly, the leader of the Yakan People of the Chosen Tribe leader lifted his arms looked up to the heavens, his lips trembling. He was intently praying. He thanked Al’lah for his very good fortune. His Tausug foster relatives looked at him and then smiled broadly at each other. Their ward just struck a gold mine – not a bad one for a Yakan.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter IV

2004-11-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER 4

National Defense College

2002

It was more than a week after the delightful vacation with Maria. Eugene had gone back to his unit knowing that he and Maria would one day soon go back to their old relationship. The past weeks showed him that. Somehow, he thought, Maria could be good for him. Suddenly, orders came for him to report back to the Special Mission Batallion Landing Team only to be given another set of orders to report to the National Defense College of the Philippines compound for the Joint Command and General Staff (JCGS) Course.

Opening day of the Command and General Staff (CGS) Course at the Joint CGS College inside the NDCP complex went through without fanfare. Eugene scouted the complex and visitedsome of his friends at the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) at the adjacent compound. A lot of them treated him out to lunch, dinner and snacks on seeing him again after a very long time.

At the College, some of his new classmates he got to like; they were loud and some a way bit vulgar in manners and speech. But he respected them because like him, they were part of the Special Ops community. A few of them like him, were also members of the elite International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI) belonging to the multi-national Region VII group composed of representatives from various countries outside of the United States.

Today, Eugene felt awful after four nights of successive discreet and very quiet drinking sessions with four of his cantankerous new classmates. Eugene reminded himself that it was Monday but a holiday. Although his course administrators did not mind that it was a holiday; for them it was a pleasure to continue teaching, they told the class. The clock told Eugene it was 0500H – not too early for him in the morning. He made himself strong coffee and lit a panatela slim -- coughing on the fourth hit from the cigar, but he relished the ritual nonetheless, not knowing why he was into it up to now that he was feeling some constriction in his chest.

He trod lazily towards the bathroom thinking about the first classes that begin at 0900H today, but he kept recalling that this stint at the Joint Services General Staff Command Course was the least of what he had wanted for himself. Not at this time of his life, he thought as he ran an early bath, hot. After changing into his uniform, he recalled how sad it made him when they booted him out of his command. The Sixth (Special Missions) Battalion Landing Team, Marines, was most accomplished among other battalions in the elite Special Op community of the Philippine Navy that included the Navy's Special Warfare Action Group (SWAG).

He was told that his relief came for a good number of reasons — prominent among them his desire to see reform that was very wanting in his own Service in general which reasons were not good, they said. They said, they thought of him as naïve and a nuisance and very immature. Ungentlemanly and unofficerlike. Brig. Gen. Gil Gerveron especially thought so about him in particular. Those were the same words that spewed from his mouth when he and the General had shouting matches. The fact that many of the officers in the Philippine Marines shared the phraseology, showed his considerable influence.

He took this course seriously though. He might just come in line for General one day and he needed it. He made a small survey of former graduates and was told the most important part of the tasks was the writing the Commander’s Paper.

Nearly everyone that he polled agreed on this. They all said however, that he had to make good in the tests and to be extra careful in revealing his innermost thoughts. Why? He asked at least one of the alumni that he had interviewed. "Because in our time, we suspected that one of the faculty and the chief of records-human resources division of NDCP were infiltrators of the local communists. And they have unlimited access to the Joint Command and General Staff records."

Eugene thought, now that was real bull shit.

Poring over the early research he made on the subject for today and the theme of his future Commander’s Paper with his free hand, Lt. Col. David drank his coffee while hot with his left hand.

His notes focused on dealing with non-conventional threats to the security of the state --- terrorists' threats. The data in his hands simply overwhelmed him. How large the number of these non-traditional threat groups could be! And how variable threat levels can become! Many or nearly almost all of them could not even be seen.

He segregated his data, labeled and filed one stack of documents that he would prefer to work on in a stand up document case.

TERRORISM

He walked through the data he scribbled on a pad, noting the vital points. Then he stood up and headed for his class.

At the classroom, he and his classmates found lettering on the white board:

Form yourselves into four groups. Hold a workshop on the monograph Counterterrorism Around the Globe Today. The Workshop Problem is: What solutions must be adopted to stop terrorism in the Philippines. Print the answers you will decide on in the sheets of manila paper on the table. I will not be around. -- Prof. Ted Parado

Everybody shouted at the same time, So he is on holiday after all! Someone catcalled and said, Liar!

To form four groups, Eugene and all his classmates made a headcount of fours. All number ones formed Group I, number twos, threes and fours in II, III and IV respectively. Eugene and a few of the Special Ops boys got into Group IV, the last group that would report if the reporting will be in the normal order.

The class was so noisy but soon they were getting into the compliance mode. The groups were formed. Eugene and his fellow workshop group members agreed to use another room in the building. They filed out into the corridor and looked for a spare room or space where they can hold their own discussions without being disturbed nor causing distraction. After finding out that one five rooms away from theirs was empty, they took seats in a circular fashion. Lt. Col. Marlon Carga and Eugene led the discussions.

As rapporteur, Eugene wrote at white in front of his groupmates the terrorist activities that they shared knowedge about from the monograph given by Prof. Parado.

• 23rd October 1983 bombing US Contingent Multinational Forces, Beirut, Lebanon • US Embassy, Beirut bombing • October 1993 World Trade Center bombing • Encounter U.S. forces with terrorists Mogadishu, Somalia • Harassment of a US peacekeeping contingent Northern Iraq • US Military housing complex car bombing, Khobar Towers, in Saudi Arabia • Murder of Pakistani President, Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, US Ambassador Arnold Raphel, 20 others on board air plane at Bahawalpur, Pakistan • 1992 Abu Sayyaf bombing of wharf Zamboanga City targeting MV Doulous, international evangelist's ship • November 14, 1993 terrorists kidnapping U.S. missionary Charles M. Watson, Pangutaran Island, Sulu Batu • December 11, 1994 explosion on Philippine Airlines air craft • April 1995 Massacre at Christian town Ipil, Zamboanga province • September 9, 1997 kidnapping of German business executive, Zamboanga City • August 7, 1998, Twin Bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar a-Salaam, Tanzania • January 31, 1999 grenade lobbing into crowd in Mindanao to avenge death of terrorist leader Gandalani

Lt. Col. Carga explained, "Okay classmates, as you know and from your own copy of the monograph, the 23rd October 1983 bombing involves the US Contingent of the Multinational Forces compound in Beirut, Lebanon. Killed were 241 US servicemen. M.O., car bomb. On the same year, Sirs, the US Embassy in Beirut was also bombed. Same M.O., car bomb. Both bombings and many others that would happen much later, were done with the use of a vehicle as the means of delivery. Around this time, among the more gruesome incidents we will be discussing, are the bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar a-Salaam, Tanzania. A total of 244 were killed including 12 Americans and 38 Foreign Service Nationals, and some 4,585 were reportedly injured."

Someone was raising his hand saying, "Excuse me, Col. Carga, why are we spending time on foreign terrorist attacks? After this, we are supposed to do what?"

Col. Carga answered, "Well, Col. Simonela, we will find the solutions. Whether these are foreign or local terrorist incidents, we will merely be using these as examples. As our professor had mentioned yesterday and since the beginning of classes."

"Okay, please proceed, Sir." the officer beside Col. Simonela replied.

Col. Carga continued: "On the October 1993 incident, the M.O. used was car bomb. On the US Embassy in Beirut same M.O., car bomb again. Now in 1992, here it is, in our own Philippines, local Abu el-Seif militants hurl a bomb at the pier of Zamboanga City, where at the time, the MV Doulous an international floating bookstore manned by Christian preachers, is docked. Several people are injured. Imagine that, kasi mga kaibigan naman, isang tropa ng mga evangelists distributing Bibles among the Muslims. Eh, kabubuo lang ng Abu el-Seif, so what would you expect? We all know that Zamboanga is full of our brother Muslims, di ba classmates?"

Eugene's and Lt. Col. Carga's groupmates shook their heads in disbelief. Some uttered mild profanities.

The group chair continued once more, "Now, in the U.S. of A., on October 3-4, 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed by Ramzey Yusuf, who owned up to the bombing and was arrested in Manila, Philippines. Then back to Mindanao, on Nov. 14, 1993 Abu el-Seif terrorists kidnap U.S. missionary Charles M. Watson in Pangutaran Island, Sulu Batu."

"Then, again, there was this encounter between U.S. - U.N. forces with alleged terrorists in Mogadishu, Somalia, that left 18 US servicemen dead. An Islamic militant organization later figured in the investigations as to who engaged the US forces in a firefight.

"On November 14, 1993 terrorists kidnapping U.S. missionary Charles M. Watson, Pangutaran Island, Sulu Batu. The missionary, who works for the Summer Institute of Linguistics, is released unharmed in Manila on December 7, same year, that is 1993.

"And here in the Philippines still, on December 11, 1994 Abu el-Seif claimed that they were responsible for the an explosion aboard a Philippine Air Lines jet. One Japanese citizen is killed; there were at least 10 others seriously injured. Then by April 1995 the Abu el-Seif carries out the Ipil, Zamboanga Massacre. Ipil is a small Christian town in Zamboanga Province in Mindanao. The Abu el-Seif brigands razed the town center to the ground. Total soldiers and civilians killed 53. At this time, the Armed Forces is saying that the group has more or less grown apart from our handlers and instead established a link with international terrorist cells.

This includes Wadn Hassan's global Al Qaeda.

Eugene joined in, "Also in the same year of 1995, a US peacekeeping contingent was harassed in Northern Iraq with unconventional tactics. As a result of the heavy exchange of fire that followed, two of the US Army UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters were shot down, killing all of the servicemen on board." (The same incident was made into a movie by Hollywood later with the title, “Black Hawk Down”.)

Eugene further added, "In Riyadh, on November 13 also in 1995, there was another incident where the Office of the Program Manager of the Saudi Arabian National Guard was – again – car bombed. The attack killed two Indians and five American Servicemen. As we all know, 1995 was also the year when the World Trade Center bomber Ramzey Yusuf, who claimed responsibility for the bombing was arrested in Manila, Philippines."

Passing his palm over the initial incidents listed by Eugene, Lt. Col. Carga took special note of the militant Mohaqir Qaumi Movement.

He said that, "As far as my own knowledge of this movement is concerned, the Mohaqir Qaumi represents the Islamic migrants of Pakistan. Their leader, Farooq Dada died, only 25 years old. The Mohaqir Qaumi Movement lost their topmost leaders in the Massacre in 1995. Around 600 ethnic minorities in Karachi from April to July 1995 alone. This was followed by reprisals by the Movement --- very violent counterattacks that led to the death of hundreds of Pakistani soldiers, police officers and innocent civilians."

While Col. Carga was speaking, Eugene went to the side of the room where a desktop computer was installed and sat down. He booted the desktop and typed the initial topics he and Lt. Col. Carga selected and that he wrote on the white board. Keying the list on the computer owned by the Joint Services Staff Command Course, he took out his own copy of the monograph and his notes -- copying some items while skipping certain points from the monograph and his notes like the data on Agha Hasan Abedi who was already neutralized. In layman's terms, dead. (Agha Hasan Abedi who died at 72 years, was charged with and convicted of, fraud and indicted for theft and other charges in the United States. Abedi was said to have perpetrated the largest financial fraud in history by founding and diverting the funds acquired by his Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Eugene's cross references on Abedi pointed to him as being at the forefront of the fund-raising efforts for global terrorism.)

Eugene moved on to the next item that happened to be what Lt. Col. Carga was briefly backgrounding on:

"In this period, suspected terrorist perpetrators were said to be behind the murder of Pakistani President, Mohammad Zia ul-Haq along with US Ambassador Arnold Raphel and some twenty odd other persons on board a Hercules C-130 transport plane at Bahawalpur, Pakistan."

Col. Carga explained further, that, "The Pakistani President, was a wholehearted supporter of the Afghan mujahideens in their determination to liberate their land from the Soviet’s puppet or client regime in Kabul. President Zia was later on acclaimed by the United States Secretary of State George Shultz in the presence of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the largest mujahideen faction staging expeditions into their territory from Pakistan, as a 'martyr.'"

Eugene noted that Lt. Col. Carga skipped the portion that Secretary Shultz, after his eulogy to the late Pakistani leader Pres. Zia, gave Hekmatyar more firearms, food rations, supplies and funds to be used in their struggle in Islamabad.

Eugene chilled over the thought that the people of Gulbuddin, later went in league with one Wadn Hasan, formed a loose but huge network of international terrorists that emerged from their mujahideen group called the Makhatab at Khidamat or MAK – that later became the Al Qaeda (literally The Hand) that had been connected with earlier targeting of US forces.

Further, that he had a boss, whose name was Fayidi ibn Mohammad bin Akhtari whose whose main contact to Wadn was a certain Bashiir. Bashiir was killed by British Intelligence and was a frequent visitor at the Philippine capital, Manila and at Zamboanga and General Santos Cities in Mindanao. Akhtari was also said to have a runner, Al Hajj Mudmar Khalimpas whose sister’s hand was taken in marriage by bin Laden in simple Islamic rites in Saudi Arabia. Mudmar is said to have become the contact man of Ramzey Yusuf in Manila.

"September 9, 1997, some suspected Abu el-Seif elements kidnap a German in Zamboanga City. After three months in captivity, the German, who is a business executive, is released on Dec. 26. "Then one year later, on December 1998 the Abu el-Seif leader Abdullah Razuk Gandalani is killed in a firefight with elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Lamitan village, Basilan Province.

"Jan. 31, 1999 Abu el-Seif members are suspected of lobbing a grenade into a crowd that had gathered to watch firefighters put out a blaze in a neighborhood supermarket. Ten people are killed, and at least 74 injured. The attack is thought to have been carried out as a form of revenge over the death of their leader, Abdullah Razuk Gandalani.

Eugene finished writing more incidents in the past and Col. Carga again made a small footnote to each incident:

• March 20, 2000 kidnapping of 53 children, teachers -- 2 Christian schools Basilan 2 hostages beheaded • April 23, 2000 abduction 21 people - 10 Westerners, 9 Malaysians, 2 Filipinos - from Sipadan resort, Malaysia • May 18, 2000 3 grenades exploded in Jolo market • June 3, 2000 kidnap of 10 journalists, mostly Germans -- ransom for $25,000 • July 1-9, 2000 kidnap of German reporter, French TV crew and Philippine evangelists • Aug. 29, 2000 kidnapping of Jeffrey Craig Schilling, American Muslim convert • Sept. 10, 2000 kidnapping of 3 people from Pandanan Island diving resort • October 12, 2000 bombing of USS Cole, port of Aden, Yemen • May 21, 2001 raid on a Pearl Farm Island resort • May 27, 2001 Abu el-Seif kidnapping at Dos Palmas Resort, Palawan • Wadn Hassan bombing of World Trade Center, New York, September 11, 2001 • Aug. 5, 2001 10 hostages of terrorist group found beheaded

Lt. Col. Carga and Eugene take turns in backgrounding the incidents:

"Then came March 20, 2000 where a total of 53 hostages - including 22 school children, five teachers and a priest - are seized from two Christian schools in Basilan after Abu el-Seif failed in an attempt to take an army outpost. The rebels subsequently release 20 hostages in exchange for food and medicine. Later, 2 of the male hostages were beheaded by Abu el-Seif members while negotiations were going on and 4 other hostages when our troops attempted a rescue attempt.

"On April 23, 2000 Abu el-Seif rebels abduct 21 people - 10 Westerners, nine Malaysians and 2 Filipinos - from the Sipadan Resort in Malaysia were kidnapped and taken to Jolo, Sulu. 2 of the American hostages were able to escape while there was commotion at the resort.

"By May 18, 2000, the Abu el-Seif again lobbed grenades, three of these exploded in the town of Jolo's Public Market. Instantly 4 died and dozens are injured. Police identified the Abu el-Seif as the perps. But please take note, different means of delivery. It's not by car bomb, as in our foreign examples. At least not yet."

Eugene's and Col. Carga's classmates shook their heads in disbelief one more time in reaction to the comment.

Col. Carga continued: "On June 3, 2000 Abu rebels kidnap 10 journalists, mostly Germans, and released them in a matter of only 10 hours following a ransom payment of $25,000 from abroad or from their Embassy, we don't know.

"Then on July 1-9, 2000, over a 9-day period, Abu el-Seif terrorists will again conduct a series of kidnappings of media persons and Filipino subjects - a German national -- a journalist; a French TV crew; and, a Willy Almeda's evangelists who visited the Jolo camp to pray for the hostages.

"On August 29, 2000 Abu el-Seif militants abduct Jefferson Sealing, an American Muslim convert who came to visit their camp at Jolo, Sulu. Abu Sibanya, the spokesman for one of the groups of the Abu el-Seif that kidnapped Schilling says his group is demanding the release of Ramsey Yussuf, Sheikh Adul Osama Rahman and Abu Hajdal from captivity in American prisons.

"On September 10, 2000, the Abu el-Seif kidnaps 3 from Pandanan Island diving resort. The hostages are taken to Sulu Province.

Lt. Col. Carga said, "On October 12, 2000 the USS Cole, in the port of Aden, Yemen, was bombed. 17 American servicemen died.

"In many of the terrorist attacks," Col. Carga said further, "the name of Wadn Hassan, a Saudi-born multi-millionaire, kept cropping up. Gene’s eyes slowly became sleepy. Suddenly he perked up. The same ibn Wadn Hassan, according to his notes, was sighted in The Philippines! He purportedly died from American strafing and ground-penetrating bombing in Afghanistan."

"May 21, 2001 suspected Abu el-Seif elements again undertake a raid on a Pearl Farm Island resort. Nobody is kidnapped but 2 resort workers died and 3 others got sustained injuries in a brief gunfight between the security personnel of the Island Resort and the Abu el-Seif terrorists.

"On May 27, 2001 Abu el-Seif kidnaps 20 tourists at Dos Palmas Resort, Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Province. The victims include a Filipina nurse and a missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kansas and another American, Guillermo Sobero of Corona, California, who was beheaded by terrorists. Sobero's remains were left behind by the terrorists.

"In August 5, 2001 our troops rescue 13 hostages, including eight children, from Abu el-Seif. The hostages are among a group of 36 people seized three days earlier in a raid by the extremist group on a village on the southern island of Basilan. On the same day our forces who staged the rescue found at least 10 hostages of the terrorist group that had already been beheaded.

"On September 11, 2001 Wadn Hassan masterminded the bombing of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, in New York. We all know now of its devastating effect on the American people.

"By November, the 15th, in 2001 back in Mindanao, the Abu el-Seif were starting to feel the pressure from our troops and our American counterparts. The el-Seif bandits release 7 of only 10 remaining hostages. Left with them were Deborah -- the Filipina nurse and Martin and Gracia Burham.

"Finally, on November - December 2001, the capture of Abu el-Seif terrorists with the aid of Satellite generated Photos from the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), became imminent. Our friends in the U.S. sends several dozen satellite photo analysts as advisers. Together with them were Green Berets who will train our soldiers in finally neutralizing the Abu el-Seif. The U.S. Army also gives hundreds of weapons, including sniper rifles, mortars and grenade launchers, to the Philippine military for use against the Muslim extremist group linked to the Al Qaeda.

"Much later, as we all are aware, the Filipina nurse and Martin Burnham were killed during the final rescue operation and only Gracia survived."

Now, my dear classmates, let's have coffee at our room.

The workshop Group IV of Eugene and Lt. Col. Carga went on a short recess and each of them took coffee or tea from their home room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

CREDIBILITY, INTEGRITY, were things to both the old Lt. Gen. Gilberto Gerveron and himself. These they could almost touch and hold. These, they considered real. Not intangibles, no. Not just. These were live objects. Like what Russians say about misery: It was not only almost like a real possession; they could caress misery with their own hands. A constant. A friend.

To him and his erstwhile buddy, being poor was a constant too, as they cling to their values from the old realm.

Yet times change and time does things even to the best of men, Gil told him in not so many words, but on several occasions. Gil told him to "step out into the real world of men." Then he would smile that crocodile smile of his that made Eugene laugh everytime.

At the center of these pep talks - deliberately composed and even rehearsed to David's mind - was a deal. Not dissimilar to the nefarious business over the purchase of the Italian S-211 trainer jets nearly eight years ago that had since caused the death of many pilots. The deal was downright scandalous. Talk about advances made to a Maj. Candallero, several generals lining up behind him and members of the staff of the lady president in Malacañang, including the presidential family was persistently doing the rounds in the military officers' circles.

And when top level officers involved in a deal start talking about these delicate matters, staff and technical sergeants chauffering them, as their security details, overhear. They turn into cotton, absorbing things wet and sometimes downright dirty. Then the matter is suddenly no longer delicate business anymore.

The deal that Gen. Gerveron entered into began a low point in their relationship. Ultimately, old and forgotten grudges started getting exhumed like long buried dead bodies. Some petty objects of past bickerings between best friends instantly grew into differences of international crisis proportions.

Soon they would only speak to each other through diplomatic emissaries as their mutual loathing and aversion deepened.As much as the general officer took pride in his insignia and wanted his mistakes passed on to the lower ranking officer in the Service, the subordinate animal whose qualification made him the mere equal of an aide-de-camp of his adversary, none of the two made any distinction of who was in the more superior order. The elder officer stooped down to the level of junior officer and his ribands and stars were altogether forgotten. It would not have been honorable for the star-ranked general officer to ignore the differences of the decorations in their epaulettes. But he loved the conflict and savored it and could not help being part of the fight.

The rift finally came to the breaking point. Each rejected recognition of the other's existence any further. That, for David was the last straw.

Even the armed forces Chief of Staff could not reconcile them. The defense secretary also tried. Almost a year since the Great Divide came between them, merely a few kept faith that perhaps if it were the Commander-in-Chief, they might act like adults once more.

None, however, hit the other at the back or slew mud at his enemy. Their quarrel, their small war, drew to a peak very silently, like the Cold War. Both were masters of quiet sabotage, of high strategy. The harm they inflicted upon each other could have ruined the lives of less formidable men or women, as it were. In their frames of mind, though, nobody could have cared any less. Life went on for both of them, perchance with plodding difficulty and bitterness in their hearts. Every one else seemed to understand them perfectly enough and although they returned past favors they were left to their own resources well enough alone. One would have paid a dear price to have to intervene.

The General wore many hats. He was Chief of the Defense Operations Center, Department of National Defense (DOC, DND) that used to be called the Defense Management Operations Center (DOMC). The DOC was now extensively expanded and had several offices and a huge transparent electronic logistics-manning charts and geographic monitoring boards to its credit. At the same time, he was the Vice-Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines, the second most important man in the country’s entire military structure.

In the old days, the DOMC office was merely a small one-desk affair in the fourth floor of Don Teofilo Sison Bldg., the small-sized edifice that housed the entire executive staff complement of the national defense organization. DOMC was manned by an officer whom the DND officialdom looked down upon as someone who had nothing better to do therefore was suited for the job of DOMC chief. A DOMC head had at least one or two runners under him, one would predictably be his chauffeur and the other enlisted man would be his man Friday.

By far the most important chore of the DOMC chiefs in the past was to arrange the schedule of helicopter transport for the Secretary of National Defense when his travels would require one. He was also provided information about the disposition of all the air transport assets of the Philippine Air Force so that when necessary, he could arrange for the use of any one or several of these assets for the purpose of the Secretary of National Defense.

Any one of the functional choppers from the Philippine Air Force that were at the disposition of the PAF command, were also considered available for the DOMC chief each time the Secretary of National Defense (SND) needed one. The greatest power of the DOMC chief then was that he could bump off anyone who was scheduled to use a C-130 or any other air asset of the Air Force like a chopper, if and when that airplane or helicopter would be the only one that could be made available for the SND.

However, things had changed radically when the general assumed the office of chief of the now renamed Defense Operations Center. The rank and file at the Department were surprised when a huge section of the second floor of the defense building was torn apart and rebuilt into a one-room affair. Then a large volume of computers were brought into that room, including what looked like a newer, much more sophisticated version of the server being used at the Intelligence Records Center at the next compound occupied by the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines – otherwise known as the ISAFP or its sister main frame at the Otis Compound of the presidential palace, where the National Security Council computers and its sensitive database were being maintained and secured.

Following the computers and the state-of-the-art main frame, were giant maps and projectors, working tables and chairs, an extraordinarily long conference table and five portable toilets and bath that bore trade marks of an import and export company in the People’s Republic of China.

As soon as the DOC was fully established, a big sign was installed at the only known entrance to it that spelled out the word “RESTRICTED” in clear white letters against a blue background. A smaller subtitle was placed below this Restricted lettering that read: Strictly Authorized Personnel Only.

Suddenly, the department had a new configuration. It now had a more active operations component that was not merely scheduling the helicopter and C-130 trips that were required by the defense secretary. Technically, the new defense operations center (DOC), had become a nerve center for tactical operations for the benefit of the Secretary of National Defense. The Secretary not only the Chief of Staff of the armed forces, now had access to the troops down the line. Through him, the President also had the same access.

This capability of the office of the defense secretary was bolstered by the implementation of an unsolicited idea of Eugene when he and the general still had good vibes between them, to establish the Defense Intelligence Office (DIO). It was patterned after after the U.S. model, except that it was determined to be under the control of the defense establishment instead of under that of the Chief of Staff, who already had control of the military's Intelligence Service.

The proposal did not initially catch fire. When Gen. Gerveron came to the defense department, he immediately pushed from where a colleague of Eugene had left off in trying to convince the defense secretary. With his power and influence, he was able to persuade the defense secretary to provide funds for the DIO.

While it was true that the Defense Operations Management Center and the Intelligence Office were meant for the Secretary of National Defense, the general was largely, the one in control.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After finishing up their coffee, Eugene and the rest of his class went back to their original circle sitting formation inside the empty classroom and Eugene wrote down at the white board the Workshop Problem of Professor Parado:

WORKSHOP PROBLEM

"What solutions must be adopted to stop terrorism in the Philippines?"

The group started discussing the terrorist attacks and what manner of solutions could be applied to each of them and to all of them as a whole. And almost an hour, Eugene was printing down the hypothetical answers to Professor Parado's workshop question that he and his classmates had come up with. Someone with a better than usual handwriting printed the answers on the sheets of manila paper provided by their professor. Finally, back at their home room, they placed the several sheets of Manila Paper on the drawer of the Professor's table at the front of the classroom and headed for the students' dorm quarters at the back of the building for their late lunch.

Eugene passed by the ground floor information desk of the dorm to make a call to Maria. At the back of his mind, he wished hard that the better times will come back soon.

A few hundreds of meters from where Eugene was making his call, someone was shouting amidst the roar of buses, trucks, cars, motorcycles and other sorts of automobiles plying the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue - also known as EDSA - and the drowned out sounds of the people in the area: "This has been written and spoken for by FATWAH!!! ... FATWAH!!! ... FI SABILLILAH JIHAAAAAAAD!!! AL'LAHU AKBAR!!! AL'LAHU AKBAR!!! AL'LAHU AKBAR!!!"

Then suddenly a huge twin explosion ripped through the Our Lady of EDSA Shrine and the People's Power Monument tearing them apart into shreds and flaying people into mid-air and with many of them, their torsos were severely were seared and mutilated by the blast beyond recognition. A siren sounded throughout Camp Aguinaldo and as if by perfected silent drill, everyone walked or run to the direction where the incident took place.

Chapter V

2004-11-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER 5

London

2002

AL FAYIDI MOHD. AKHATARI, known to many as Sir Fayid, for he was a Knight of the Realm, enjoyed the prime of his life. In two different ways, he mused.

At one of these, he lived an ascetic existence together with several wives in a network of caves somewhere in the Mediterranean.

On the other occasion, he lived the life befitting royalty in an 80-room villa in the suburbs of London. As well, a part of this was vacationing in his 200-room castle in Austria and in his other properties around the world.

As the son of a former factory mechanic, but the ascendant head warmonger among his peers in the secret fraternal society called the Order of the Scions of Horus, Fayidi rose above his circumstances by wisely investing the funds from Switzerland held in trust by the secret society through its numerous subalterns in the banking sector.

Fayidi flicked the mouthpiece of the houkkah, the water pipe used by opium users. His eyes scanned the sky and the effect of the drug lent a sensation of mirth to his face.

He had every reason to be happy. From his family’s humble beginnings, his father made a killing in becoming the King Saud’s master mechanic. From then he amassed a fortune from contracts awarded by his employer, the King. Fayidi’s father was then recruited by the Order and him as well when he was thirteen years old. Fayidi’s uncle, Wadn Hassan was the elder who took the elder Akhtari into the Order.

As of the moment, his own personal assets amounted to 980 million pounds sterling – which made him a billionaire in terms of dollars. While the Trust Fund of the Order had grown steadily under his watch from UK£12 Billion to nearly 100 billion. On the other hand, a huge number of his fellow rich Arabs succumbed, one after the other, to his ruthless machinations and had effectively made the society much richer by almost 200 percent.

He seduced them in lavish and garish parties in the Excalibur Estate, in his villas, castles and mansions in France, Austria, Switzerland and the monumental palace he built in Karachi, Pakistan.

Last night, for instance, was a night of nights for a lot of the old and noveau rich, the blue bloods, social climbers of various types, business middlemen, bankers, moneymarket and commodities traders and so many others who would pay a high price to be in his parties.

Each time he organized a party, a lot of them made killings in the stock market. His simple and highly subtle get-togethers had always been a hit. It was always mentioned in the Fortune Magazine’s pages, in the London dailies’ and magazines columns.

He gifted editors and network owners abundantly for them to never mention his name, but merely cite the occasion, the venue, the significance and the theme of each party so that people will know it was his own.

Not a few gained money from his mysterious mergers, passive takeovers, partnerships in single or clusters of transactions --- mostly involving transnational commerce. There were buy and sell deals involving oil, gold, silver and all other commodities except diamonds which Fayidi loathed because it was nearly one hundred percent controlled or influenced by Israeli and European Jews. These were the only people in the world aside from the Americans that Fayidi secretly hated deep down to his very bones. However, he kept these feelings extremely close to his chest.

Not a few had wished they would lay give their life away just to be in his social gatherings, even his perceived mortal enemies, the Americans and the Jews.

There were also the very royal villa that he built in Papua New Guinea, a hillside residential palace in Malaysia, near Brunei and a number of hotels that dotted the globe. His parties never discriminated among his residences and hotels. He held them in each of every one of them at one occasion and then another and another.

The revelries did not seem to stop. And the business kept flowing. In the process, Fayidi kept accummulating wealth, like his own partygoers did. In some of the occasions, he made better killings than his guests; on many of them, he deliberately just took a little for himself. Like the bank in a casino, he kept his subjects addicted to the winnings, the profits and the hunger for money. Easy money in most of them. No mind that he dished out illegal trading, gave unauthorized insider information as tips during his parties. Just as long as he kept it all within control and his guests pursued him like gambling junkies --- which they all were anyway.

His Royal Highness, Prince Heffere -- wayward brother to a Sultan in Southeast Asia, nearly caused the collapse of his brother’s empire when he allowed Fayidi to extract billions of dollars worth of loans, securities and bonds from the Sultan’s investment agency called the BIA. His Majesty, The Sultan’s brother after all, was one of the new recruits of the Order.

All Fayidi had to do was write off the debts and leave the Sultan’s financial wizards with a long string of collaterals scattered around the globe to sort out and foreclose. This was easier said than done since some of the alleged collaterals were either bought, or were actual original real estates or else expensive items such as yachts, jet aeroplanes, luxury cars among others, registered in the name of women – wives of the Sultan’s brother.

There were a large number of them since the Sultan’s brother never appeared to have a waning taste and love for women from as many parts of the world as possible. Aside from naming the properties after women, Fayidi also ingeniously placed some of the larger properties in the names of his seventeen brothers.

This, notwithstanding that other people who were ‘distant relatives’ of the Sultan were also designated as owners of some of the properties. Such people had real blood ties to the Sultan and were mere commoners, just like the Sultan himself before the British made him King.

They were selected long before and their friendship had been cultivated by Fayidi and his lieutenants that they would do everything to please the Chairman. After 30 years of loyalty and dedication to the society, he had also finally arrived at the turning point of his and the Order’s existence. He was about to become its leader, provided that he proves his worth. And he will. “I will!” he said in his native Arabic tongue over and over.

He had just finished his morning prayers, downed some sweet Turkish coffee and sipped some of the life-enhancing opium that became his habit for the last thirty years since his father initiated him into it.

This home of his here in the London suburbs was well-guarded by his loyal man, Commander Mallaghey, a son of another friend – a Rajah, Gen. Guillaume Mallaghey. It was also equipped with the British SHIELD – a super powerful detection and surveillance system used by the British Army and Secret Services.

He ordered SHIELD to be to protect him from any attack, physical or electronic or any other non-conventional assault. Even laser deflectors were continuously rotating among his plants and trees in his beautiful, well-trimmed gardens.

From his fence outward, a jangle of electronic wizardry provided every imaginable form of detection, counter- or counter-countermeasure, as well as giving the one at their controls the opportunity to offensively strike at intruders.

This was established by Luzivro Technologies – a firm he partly owns and even profitably promoted to make it attain its present ranking in the Top 500 of Fortune Magazine. He sold at a fat profit to the Sultan in South Asia, the Saudi King and his relatives, the leaders of other Arab countries that had enjoyed his fat bribes and their skims from the locals whom Fayidi had appointed as local counterparts.

This property was the one known in many quarters of consequence as The Excalibur Estate and was purchased from a wealthy Greek don.

The estate had been in Fayidi’s name for the past ten years now. There was nothing within it that appealed to him except that everything within the huge house served a utilitarian purpose.

His bodyguards under Commander Mallaghey were all of Arabic stock but many or almost all were also of mixed Indian stock. The Commander’s father, General Mallaghey was a British SAS officer. The guards were mostly former SAS but were part of a distinct unit called the Rajput Regiment.

Their old unit was that of the fightingest soldiers in the entire world. It was a fortunate incident that trader Arabs wandered as far as India and begot sons and daughters in the Rajasthan region of that country. Now Fayidi Akhatri could rely on the best of the best for his personal safety. For this simple reason, among many other considerations, he thanked Al’lah each time that he can sleep like a baby.

Even in his cavern hideaway, none could keep him from his regimen of good, fitful rest.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fayidi Akhatari slipped into Western garments after removing his keffiyeh. He often would prefer to be in his native Arab’s robes. But he had studied in England’s universities and took up courses in the U.S. He knew how important it was to blend with the Westerners -- British, the French, Greek and the Americans.

The air-conditioning system was in full power. Unlike in other parts of the house however, the cold was the only thing he had to endure here.

He lifted a remote control device as big as a one-dollar coin and the wall came to life with a multiple screen display. A good number of events showed on the screens. He switched from one screen to another, looking intently. Then he turned his attention to the map on the farthest right of the wall monitor.

Akhtari traced his finger along a red pencilled section of the map running form a point in Asia to the United States. Then he traced another pencilled part form the Mediterranean running along to the portion supposed to be at the opposite side of the globe.

He took two small magnetic pins from a stubby table beside where he was, and placed them on three points on the electronic map. The first pin was planted on the screen over Japan. The second pin over California. The third pin went to the tiny drawing of a diminutive country in the map - The Philippines. His face beamed and he said, "Sorry Philipinese."

Then he walked to the left side of the room laughing aloud imitating the sound of a hyena and pushed a nearly invisible button that he memorized the location of. The left wall opened into a massive curtain parted by a small opening near the middle. As soon as he parted the heavy drapery, the wall near the door from where he entered into his high technology war room illuminated automatically revealing a completely digital display of controls almost as common the modern stereo or stereophonic video components.

This side adjacent to his highly computer driven command, control, communications and intelligence system was 17th century England. Thus the music coming from his secret work room was not circa 21st century.

Inside the spacious ‘period room,’ signs of being lived-in were visible everywhere. Pieces of tablet paper here, a book there, a crochette kit on the sofa and other bric-a-bracs wherever one turned his eyes.

The expansive perfectly designed living room led to a bedroom ahead and to the right, the huge terrazzo – again laid out with selected flowering plants and bonzai trees.

She was there, wearing only a flimsy g-string bikini bottom and nothing on her top. Fayidi Akhtari felt his irritation over what happened to the Collander wing of his massive organization. The invalid Collander’s inadequacy somehow rolled back to the inner recess of his brain. A different effusive mood filled him.

Princess Laine, like the goddesses of his dreams, continued to sleep like a baby. He pulled over a sunbathing chair and lay down beside her. He could stare at his Princess for hours and hours on end, but he never got tired of her. Soon he found himself kissing strands of her hair gently, careful not to awaken her. Then he was breathing in, the musky scent of her perspiring back.

They had just had the most pleasant sex ever, the night before, since they arrived from Greece.

“Do you think anyone saw you? Did you take care in coming here?”

“No one, I believe,” said Princess Laine. She had been careful in being seen with him in public.

“I tried hard to keep anyone from seeing you with me in Athens, my love.”

Princess Laine giggled like a little girl. “And all the other places where we went, don’t you... won’t you think that all those people I met wouldn’t somehow imagine that I was with someone? Those who know me believe I am never without company.”

“That you crave for balance, for harmony and that includes always having someone you must partner with.” Akhtari said with a smile. “That you feel inadequate, that there is something missing when you are all alone. Is that it?”

“You’re right!” Princess Laine had always been surprised at how well Yody, – as she affectionately called him – he could read her.

Akhtari shook his head to assure her that they were neither been seen nor that their presence would be associated with each other. He knew that he had always been completely incognito and had not allowed himself to be seen except by the people themselves with whom he was having meetings. Being beholden to the Order, they would never betray his presence in any particular place at any given time.

He and Laine lived on and off together. And he relished the sobriquet she had for him.

“You’re my Casper, my forever friendly ghost.” He reminded himself of those endearing words that she used to say. She still remembered to say them to him.

That memory made him chuckle and every time he would remember her saying it, sometimes it tickled him somewhat.

Princess Laine was born of the Wynstons, also royal clan domiciled in Canada. She was merely 32 now and had two sons, Wayne and Richard, of her now-estranged husband Prince and former heir-apparent to the throne of the Danish Royalty. They now lived separately, she in both England and France while the Prince sought to remain in Denmark after the sister of the late King took over from the Prince’s mother due to scandals over the Prince’s marital break-up with Princess Laine.

Princess Laine settled in England through the graciousness of the British Royalty and was entitled to a £200,000 allowance per annum.

Her trysts with Fayidi were all very hush-hush since even after her divorce with the Prince, she still had to abide by the rules governing subjects and kin of Her Majesty, particularly those of the Royal Family. She even had to be conscious more so of the monarchy in England under whose favors she was allowed to take up residence in London. There was no telling however if the security apparatus of their governments and the Royal Palaces of the monarchies were not yet onto them. They seemed to be everywhere.

Fayidi knew. He also could not tell Laine since she would be upset. Fayidi’s Rajputs had access to nearly everywhere in Copenhagen and London.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter VI

2004-11-29T01:01:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER 6

THEY GATHER AGAIN, Sabirah (the Patient One), wife of Bobby Jupatan, cried alone in her room. She had pretended to her husband that she was indisposed.

Wiping away her tears, she pulled out an old box from the bed she shared with her husband and their unfortunate child, Jammil who was suffering from palsy.

She took out pictures of the time when they were young. When she looked at Bobby like he was all there was in the world. Minutes later, she fell asleep holding the photographs close to her chest.

Beyond where she lay, courtesy of the elder Jupatans, was the receiving area. The patriarch, Lamundin Pagdagdangan, an uncle-in-law was entertaining guests. The soon-to-be Honorable Congressman Edgar K. Valloso; the forthcoming Prime Minister Jorge Novicia’s political analyst and drug user Claudio San Gabriel — sometime referred to more often by his colleagues as Mr. Cloudy when he would be high on drugs; the patriarch’s fellow Muslims, Gakon Horo; retired Admiral Rogelio Gaspaldon; second-in-command Rommil Khan; Mayor Jaffar Saalih; former Ambassador Badli Agando and their subalterns.

While everybody settled into their places in the huge sala, former ex-convict, now general factotum of aspirant Prime Minister Novicia, Reynaldo L. Baclang, kept dipping his hands inside a huge bag full of 1,000 Philippine Peso-denominated cash – at least P20,000,000 of it inside the leather bags.

Baclang was accompanied by a Dr. Marcelo Roque, a tall man with a lot of muscle. The doctor regularly lifted weights. But while Dr. Roque prescribed drugs for his patients, Rey Baclang who suffered from an illness that he attributed to “bad liver,” did not ever ask for prescriptions from him.

Baclang did not look good. Some guests in the sala noted his awful appearance as if asking why in heavens he still had to come. But they did not comment. They knew how bad he and aspirant Prime Minister Novicia were relating after a very long spat and were now only renewing their working connection, albeit Novicia who had a terrible grudge against him was always open to using him.

Everyone looked at Baclang once in a while, the willing advocate of the devil. They noticed how terrible he looked, his body sagging everywhere, the lost weight tremendously altered his appearance. Baclang got the services of Dr. Roque’s colleague, Dra. Elizabeth Rimano, who intimated to him that she did not really care an iota if Baclang died. Baclang insisted when she refused to be his doctor, pleaded and begged. Fortunately, Dr. Rimano’s oath in the end did not allow her to turn her back from him.

Baclang settled himself into a sofa away from all the guests — it irritated him that they minded him so much. He felt very tired and spent.

He set down two medium-sized suitcases while Dr. Roque had four. They both worked on transferring the contents into large duffel bags. One bag already stacked changed hands from Baclang to a group of young mujahideens eager to get their hands on the package. The large sum of money for the mujahideen was for a certain Operation Condemn.

The money was for the group to undertake “terrorism” in Ranao and Maguindanao. Deals were being made so they would be tolerated by politicians, high police and immigration officials in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei if and when they need to escape there. They would thus not be harmed and may even be contracted to undertake similar nasty jobs in those places.

The young turks were first to be allowed to an elders’ meeting. This was unprecedented and was never done in the past. It must not be easy for young Turks to identify the elders. It was taboo for anyone to determine the elders’ true identity. No one was supposed to know who they were and be able to threaten, kidnap or kill them if they opposed the more recent, high-profile acts of the emerging young breed who were more mercenaries of the worst order rather than disciplined guerillas, the same ones who would gravitate towards the People of the Chosen Tribe – now calling themselves Jama’a Abu Sayyap or Jama’a l'harakatul.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As Baclang got comfortable in the plane ride back to Manila, he smiled. He thought that those young Muslims would be doing what he and his companions in the Light The Fire Brigade and the April Seventeen Movement used to do. He shuddered to think that back then, he was always the one ordered to carry the pail or plastic shopping bag containing the explosives and it was he who had to plant the bomb at the Manila Garden Hotel as well as at the Shell Gasoline Station and oftentimes, he was also the one who did the planting in many of their other targeted places.

At that time, he used to be the mere errand boy, man Friday, general factotum of the Light The Fire members, led by famous Ateneo de Manila University alumnus and big time Social Democrat, Rafael Mallavos himself. Under Mallavos were Dino Corazon, a certain Joseph whose last name he could not recall, Miguel Rebondio, Eduardo Buenoferro, brothers Jose and Miguelito Ramiro (who even claimed blood relations with Pres. Porteza), Manolito and Juan Piñia – who believed they were half Israelites and half Spanish, Lucefo Largamayo and Arthur Baltazar, who says he is a nephew of former Pres. Eggy Porteza.

From being a mere runner of the Christian terrorist brigade, going to prison for it and losing his wife to a jail guard, he had come a long way. A mighty long, long way. He began feeling exhaustion again. The trip did not exhaust him so much. What made him feel so bad was avoiding being noticed by the others in the traveling party from Manila that he was going out at nights to meet at least fifteen big time drug traders.

Aside from the suitcases of cash that the delegation had brought along, he also inserted about fifty seven and one half (57½) kilograms of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, that was also known in the streets by its Japanese name shabu.

There were at least eleven contacts that he had to meet to fully dispose of the 57½ kilos of shabu he brought over from his brother's contacts. He himself had tried out the drugs and found out that they had a high degree of purity. Each time he sniffed on the smoking paraphernalia bought by his brother, he was kept awake for two days.

He got the drugs from his brother. Ereneo Maclang was the expert in these things. He was the socialist (he was communist when he started), he was the revolutionary, or at times reformist, at times terrorist, but his brother was the criminal and he was also the killer of the family. They belonged to a clan of insurrectionists and cattle rustlers, both regarded lowly during the early days of the Republic.

Apparently, he inherited traits from the rebel side of his clan while his brother, the characteristics of his villainous forebears. They rarely got along well but blood is thicker than water. When he broached the idea of entering into his brother's business, showing two attache cases of money to him, his sibling's eyes and mouth had watered and hugged him very sincerely to say that "You are the best brother in the world."

Baclang always thought that he was, after all. Recently, through the power and influence of the Novicia camp, he had gotten his younger brother out of jail not more than once. Now that certain people in the Novicia camp were into drugs themselves -- thanks to him, they had to be highly circumspect and had to appear spanking clean.

Therefore, his brother with a long list of offenses against the law was highly visible and very obvious. He had to be told to keep low and not become involved in the operations of some of the people of Novicia.

The politician did not know what his men, nor Baclang, one of his most trusted political advisers, were doing. Little did he know that it would affect him and his life deeply.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

There were now two mass casualty incident sites. The Saluag Island massacre site and the ground zero of the huge explosion at EDSA.

Dr. Coscolluella and Maj. Ramon Signes, after more than one month of painstaking work, had just about wrapped up what they were doing at the island and on invitation of the Australians, had gone with their group to Canberra and then to Sidney for futher work on evidence study, classficiation and analysis. The Aussies let Ramon and Janey take at least four other Filipino staff to Australia. However, when the EDSA event happened, the Australians asked them to accompany their International Deployment Team to the spot at EDSA.

It was a quick call. There was no time to pack, so Ramon and Janey brought only their important personal items and left all their clothes in their quarters at the dorm inside the compound of the Australian Federal Police national headquarters in Canberra. They initially flew by the Australian Air Force chopper to the airport and then they took an air force plane to Manila.

It was a Sunday and Non-Commissioned Officers and enlisted personnel who served as drivers were few and far between which was the reason for taking the chopper instead over the short run to the air field. Police Major Ellie Lovejoy and Captain Helen Wise however, had enormous clout with the Australian Protective Service (APS) that in turn had very good relations with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The Royal Australian defense forces have been integrating their efforts with the federal police of Australia to reach out into an international clientele in disaster assistance. At the forefront of these efforts is the RAAF.

They took off at about 11 a.m. from the small but highly secured landing strip that was exclusively reserved for the use of the Australian Defence Minister. A light lunch was served for them by a RAAF lady 2nd Lieutenant. Ellie and Helen, along with five other Australians were also with them.

Upon hitting Manila, they checked in at the Intercontinental Hotel at Makati City, abruptly leaving for the incident site at EDSA. All the time, Ramon kept the communication open with Eugene who was helping in the rescue and relief operations. Upon reaching the site, Eugene was there to meet them.

Ramon and Janey, introduced their companions, Ellie and Helen and the five other members of the Australian IDT delegation.

Beside Eugene, there were several officers and staff of the National Disaster and Emergency Assistance Coordinating Council (NDEAC) of the Philippine Government who were also there to receive them. They courteously introduced themselves to the foreign visitors. They were instantly brought to a tent that served as the command post of the OSC, on-scene Incident Commander, BGen. Carlos Maglaya, who was the Commanding General of the National Capital Regional Defense Command (NCRDC).

Eugene showed Ramon and Janey and the Australians a brief footage of the post explosion scene. They saw an officer covering the dead bodies of civilians with a plastic sheet after the bomb planted inside the EDSA Shrine exploded, instantly killing nearly two hundred and fifty people and wounding more than one thousand others.

Eugene told them that the footage from tape was taken by a young fellow who was at the scene. He said that he and his classmates in CGSC watched the guy take footages and after he ran out of tape, persuaded the youngster to part with his digital camera since this was a terrorist attack and it was a matter of national security. The boy reluctantly agreed and received Eugene's and the other officers' calling cards. Ramon, Janey and Major Lovejoy laughed at the story.

Eugene explained parts of the tape: "As you can see, there, a large part of the Robinson's Galeria Mall and Hotel collapsed when the ground upon which the bomb was detonated caved in, bringing down with it a huge component of the facade and a portion of the Mall's 5-storey structure like a pack of cards."

"The EDSA Shrine explosion, where did the bomb actually explode?" Janey asked Eugene.

"The bomb, exploded in the southern part of the chapel and therefore nearer to the Mall. At first, the concrete broke open and caused a major portion of National Bookstore, the adjacent restaurant as well as driveway to the basement parking area to join the lower levels of the basement, thereby damaging hundreds of vehicles parked at that spot," Eugene said and Ramon butted in "Must have been powerful, that bomb."

"It was," BGen. Maglaya reported. The General was in civilian attire. He was wearing a dark Ralph Lauren shirt and freshly pressed navy blue denims and rust colored loafers. "Our bomb investigators have hauled a lot of the soil and debris for the past twenty hours in the two explosion sites. They have so far pieced together a big part of the two explosives used. The basic, common factor in the two bombs and in many of the other bombs used here in Manila, like the one in the LRT bombings in December 30 2000, is the silicon something. Eugene, you're the bomb expert, what do you call that silicon thing again?"

"That's a part of the circuit Sir that arms and ignites the bomb. The silicon controlled rectifier, or SCR, Sir" and the General said thanks and signaled with his palm that he had to join the party of the Secretary of National Defense (SND) that had just arrived at the scene.

Eugene continuted: The initial count was at least one hundred sixty civilians killed and and at least 500 others injured security forces estimated.

Due to the low preparedness of the Philippines to these types of incidents, Ramon, Janey and the Australian team were told by Eugene and the NDEAC officials that they have so far been doing things by trial-and-error.

There were some personality conflicts and unit rivalries that were making the job difficult. But so far, the work was proceeding without much delay.

After the informal orientation, the Australians, Ramon and Janey coordinated with the top honchos of NDEAC who were helping provide a semblance of command and control over the incident scene together with the on-scene Incident Commander and started to work right away.

BGen. Maglaya approached Ramon, Ellie and Helen who were huddled in a corner of the Command Post and politely interrupted them: "I'd like you to please meet our Secretary Antonio Sobrinos. Secretary of Defense." As soon as Ellie and Helen acknowledged the top man of defense in the Philippines, the General said, "Mr. Secretary, may I please introduce Police Captain Helen Wise, Police Major Elwood Lovejoy from the International Deployment Team of the Australian Federal Police. They will be assisting us with the investigations."

As he was walking through the incident site, the defense secretary noticed Eugene and said, "Col. David, I think they have very little to teach you at the Command and General Staff Course, ha?"

Behind him, BGen. Maglaya whispered for everyone's benefit in a not-so-soft voice, "He is our unofficial bomb analyst here, Sir, Mr. Secretary" and the SND said, "Is that so now? Well, well!"

Eugene blushed but replied, "We won't be having classes until next week, Sir, Mr. Secretary." to which the official said, "Very good! Very good! Carry on with what you are doing then." And he looked towards the direction where his aides were watching beside the Department of Defense convoy of cars and utility vehicles that ferried the SND to wherever he had to go.

At one of the vehicles, Eugene observed that a familiar pair of eyes were staring at him. His former friend and now bitter foe, newly-promoted to Lieutenant General, Gil Gerveron. The real power behind the throne at the defense department.

Chapter VII

2004-11-29T01:00:00.000-08:00

CHAPTER 7

Tension ran high in the Council of Leaders’ Headquarters. Everyone knew Farid Jammali looked with burning hatred and very deeply-held, long-standing desire to kill, at Annuar Kadap Gandalani.

Their mortal family vendetta had been resurrected only recently over the affections of a woman, Bai (Lady) Talihah Adnucan who held the key to the throne of the 27th descendant of Sultan RajahMuda. But Bai Talihah herself was oblivious to these petty troubles she caused. She had barely touched the soil of her hometown and Farid and Annuar already restored their age-old contempt for one another and each other’s entire clan. Soon it became known to all who considered it their business to dwell on everyone else’ lives except their own.

The Bai was spared of the knowledge, dreadful as it was.

At this council meeting, everyone nearly expected daggers to issue from both young men’s hands and stuck upon the chest of his opponent. Yet the counsel of the elders prevailed. Some confreres thought, just as well.

This gathering resolves how much money each division should be allotted for the entire year now that the funds are available. No one desired petty jealousies and feuds to mar this assembly. Nonetheless, negative comment kept spewing from the mouths of some of the confreres. Resentment ran high among the heathen gathered. The recent state of affairs of the Islamic independence movement was the cause of this.

Five of those present kept a persistent harangue against profiteers and unscrupulous robber barons as well as money bags. Against the land grabbers. They could not stop commenting that this group gathered now in the meeting cannot accomplish their work for Al’lah if they strayed from the Path of Righteousness.

It was the True and Only, Path of the Mujahideen, they declare.On the other side of the table, young Turks and peasant-looking, self-declared Commanders of hitherto nonexistent organizations, and suspected to be mere pawns, goons or private armies of Governors, Congressmen and Mayors in the Sulu-Basilan circuit, complained that the high council could not afford to make their groups of hoods, rascals and scoundrels eat three times a day.

“Will our brother Muslims pillage our Muslim and neighbor non-Muslim towns and villages for food, meager clothing and a brief shelter in their victims’ houses with the local women?” The gang of hoods laughed loud but they showed they were not joking. Not at all.

“We just bombed Maguindanao, Zamboanga, other cities, to make candidate Zacan Acandaw lose in the election for Regional Governor of Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao,” one of the youngsters said.

Then Farid with his large bandana covering his face, intoned. “Why did you have to bomb the Darrul Islam?”

“We were told by a certain Baclang who gave us the money that Lamundin Pagadangan must win at all costs! We were paid handsomely for that!” Annuar boasted.

Still one of Annuar’s own group interjected.

“We might have killed a few people on the streets. So what?!? Haven’t the elders begun the war with the satrub?”

“No killings,” an elder softly replied. “If you kill, no funds.”

Annuar rebutted, “And take away the excitement?”

Some of the elders went into a harangue.

“What wrong had Zacan Acandaw done to you children?”

“Don’t call us CHILDREN!!!”

“How dare you try to destroy one of the beloved leaders of this Bangsa Moro nation!”

“I spit on you traitors!!!”

Bobby Jupatan cried out from the kitchen, “Please stop all that nonsense Annuar. How dare you all come to our house and cause troubles like this. Why must you bring your hostile attitude here? I invited you like men, so men you be not animals!”

Then as Bobby Jupatan came into the room carrying the tray full of roasted goat meat and an M-16 rifle on the other hand, Annuar remarked with his head bowed, his voice mocking.

“You are full of shit! We all take money from pigs. We are all just like them. Haven’t you told the elders that we willingly accepted many millions of pesos from the infidels?”

On hearing this, Bobby’s face turned ashen. He put the tray on the table, his eyes seeing only red with his anger, Bobby cocked the M-16 and pointed the tip of the barrel at Annuar’s ears, and then gestured with the gun for the young man to leave at once.

Annuar rose, kicked off his chair and tromped out of the place with his comrades.

“I tell you, many Christians died and at least a few Muslims got killed too!!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

And then they rode off on two new gleaming motorbikes.

At least six others of the 21-man Council of Leaders, only one of whom was always conspicuously abstaining, kept their peace. They were old and wiser. And they knew what happened in every nook and cranny of this increasingly more violent part of Darrul Islam.

The looks on the elders’ faces as they looked the remaining young commanders in the eyes, seemed to inquire at each and every one of them who stormed into this meeting.

“What went wrong here? What is wrong with you young people?”

Indeed, that most of all was in their minds. They taught these young men. Virtues. Values. They sang and recited proclamations of The Prophet Mohammed (SWT). All, when they were young, until they grew to the age of majority.

They taught fairness, love for kaadilan (justice), and most of all the struggle for self-perfection, jihad al akbar (The Greater Jihad – the war against the negative aspects of oneself and its diminutive – the jihad al-asgar (The Lesser or Smaller Jihad – the war against others who have done Islam wrong.)

Apparently, that schmuck of a satrub who came years ago with the sacrilegious misinterpretations of the Holy Qur’an, had succeeded. Even that filthy P2,000,000 a month budget — blood money! Bloody dirty money!!! They all cried in disgust. Now these so-called advocates of faurat are in the limelight and flooding the towns and villages with their millions of pesos — even dollars that suddenly came in from nowhere — on many occasions. These dogs of war, the elders viewed them with contempt. They were for hire, the lowest form of knifers and satrub and yet some of them were Muslims! A shame!

The elders anyway have always held these pseudo-mujahideens in great contempt. And now they are being glamorized by the younger Muslim population. Only because they were liberal in spending their newly acquired blood money. On these meetings, as the elders held sway at the end with their wise counsel during the deliberations they kept their silence. Seething with their own private disgust.

How ugly that vulnerable children are now being abducted and taken into their camps to be brainwashed! They know that there will be a point when no one will believe them any longer. They want robots! Unacceptable!!!

Halim vividly recalls, how his own aunt, his mother’s beloved sister, sang a sad dirge on her death bed after she caught an unintended bullet at the left temple:

“Al’lah will now be joined my little oneDon’t cry over me! The devils be damnedThey took all our land, treasures from Our ancestors that we guarded for so long!Be not sad, my little one, but pray for Strength and Al’lah’s merciful guidanceMay He empower you, to bring back to Our shamed House, stewardship of our land...”

Sarif’s aunt could not continue her song further for soon, she succumbed. He recalled recitations about those who are true to their faith from the Noble Qur’anic verses in the section Al-Baqarah, always her aunt’s favorite topic with him.

“My little one,” she used to say, “listen:”

"4. ... who believe in (the Qur'ân and the Sunnah) [5] which has been sent down (revealed) to you (Muhammad Peace be upon him ) and in [the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel), etc.] which were sent down before you and they believe with certainty in the Hereafter. (Resurrection, recompense of their good and bad deeds, Paradise and Hell, etc.).

"5. They are on (true) guidance from their Lord, and they are the successful.”

At times when he complained repeatedly to her about both his real and imagined enemies, she would console him with the verses about those on whom Al'lâh looks upon with disfavor:

"6. Verily, those who disbelieve, it is the same to them whether you (O Muhammad Peace be upon him ) warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe.

"7. Al’lâh has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearings, (that is, they are closed from accepting Allah’s Guidance), and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be a great torment.

"8. And of mankind, there are some (hypocrites) who say: "We believe in Al’lâh and the Last Day" while in fact they believe not.

"9. They (think to) deceive Al’lâh and those who believe, while they only deceive themselves, and perceive (it) not!

"10. In their hearts is a disease (of doubt and hypocrisy) and Al’lâh has increased their disease. A painful torment is theirs because they used to tell lies.

"11. And when it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth," they say: "We are only peacemakers."

"12. Verily! They are the ones who make mischief, but they perceive not.

"13. And when it is said to them (hypocrites): "Believe as the people (followers of Muhammad Peace be upon him, Al-Ansâr and Al-Muhajirûn) have believed," they say: "Shall we believe as the fools have believed?" Verily, they are the fools, but they know not.

"14. And when they meet those who believe, they say: "We believe," but when they are alone with their Shayâtin (devils - polytheists, hypocrites, etc.), they say: "Truly, we are with you; verily, we were but mocking."

"15. Al’lâh mocks at them and gives them increase in their wrong-doings to wander blindly.

"16. These are they who have purchased error for guidance, so their commerce was profitless. And they were not guided.

"17. Their likeness is as the likeness of one who kindled a fire; then, when it lighted all around him, Al’lâh took away their light and left them in darkness. (So) they could not see.

His beloved aunt’s mentorship consoled him. Now, alas! his aunt could no longer continue her songs, dirges and recitations of the Qur’an further that used to be music to his ears. And so he raged. How he raged! Over how unjust it was that the war was so foolish and excruciating. Over how the innocent got punishment they certainly did not deserve!

His aunt died from a stray bullet that actually just grazed her temple but made her seriously ill since. From where it came, from friend or foe, no one did ever learn.It was one of the lowest points in his life. It drove him to unspeakable anger. His own life work, following that incident, became a series of involvement in Muslim resistance on the one hand, and collaboration with Christian peers on the other, just so as to see the day when their ancestors’ heritage will be restored in the name of the household once more.

In the old times, during the Golden Age of Islam in the southern parts of the archipelago, the Rumah Beecharra (literally the House of Debate or Discussion), acted as the Council of Leaders.

Whereas, in those times, each member of the Rumah was the holder of a noble title, performed official functions in the Sultanate that told of his high mark, nowadays there are bandits like these who have infiltrated the higher Councils, like this equivalent of the Rumah Beecharra.

Soon, these evil ones will even play more havoc with the faith, as they did when they had mass-reproduced a phony series of so-called Discourses (fatwah) that their soulless puppeteers in the North were marketing as the true spirit behind the faurat bandits! Pirates, all of them.

To think that historically, these bandits worked for the white jinns (evil spirits), getting paid to fight a war in Afghanistan.

“Damn them all to hell!” Halim fumed. He remembered, as if it were not long ago, that tens — albeit even hundreds — of thousands of Muslims perished in the resistance wars against those white jinns.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He saw a lot, for an old man, al-Draz Halim did. He sometimes saw too much for his own comfort, he would console himself.

Sarif al-Draz Halim never counted himself among the collaborator middle class. He kept to himself, like his fathers and grandfathers.

He was born to Draz Kadar and Haniyyah Ni'mah. The name Sarif was more a title and his name Halim (Gentle, Mild-mannered One) came from his own great, great grandmother Halimah.

His clan had always been in the service of the Sultan. The role of his father and those before him was to advise the Sultan. Which is the reason behind the title of Sarif. In the years, decades and centuries of loyal servitude, Halim’s forebears accumulated not only wealth but estates within the realm in the Sultanate of Maguindanao. His clan’s properties marked the map of the kingdom of Maguindanao – most of these prime estates.

Through time, the opulence of the Sarif’s clan increased along with that of the Sultan. Being highly educated, the Sarif’s clan were able to hold on to their estates. However, in contrast, the constituency of the Sultanate gradually were at the losing end. Unable to understand the significance of their properties, neither able to document them, they lost their own land to unscrupulous strangers from other places who swarmed into the Sultanate.

Halim worried for his people. On his own, he saw with his own eyes that his people suffered extremely when the Americans by centralizing political and administrative authority dispossessed the Southern Muslims of their livelihood. Christian leaders from the North of the archipelago and Central Philippines, took advantage of the rich South by concentrating power and control in Manila.

Corruption and graft intensified. Muslims no longer tread upon a level playing field. Their enterprises would never improve beyond the barter stations, the raw rubber supply market and other similar backward, marginal subsistence trades.

Poverty hit the Muslim south very hard. Each Muslim could feel the pinch. Even their noble or royal households could no longer enjoy everything they used to have. No other but the impoverished lower Muslim classes resented the Christians more. But the Americans, in Sarif al-Draz’s time, were forgotten. And now these bandits, puppets of the jinn were all over his skin!

But occasions like the one at the Jupatan household evoked lucid memories of what the Holy Book says what should not ever be at all. And what is supposed to be in the Ummah.

How he felt left all alone to fend for his own and his people. But how, with the rascals, the small men lording it over all that was happening around him. In spite of his inspired life, he felt wasted. Terribly wasted.

And then he remembered his own grandfather who said, "My son, beware of the meztizos (half-breed Muslims). They are only half-human, but their other half comes from the devil himself." That made him even more greatly depressed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Partial Storm City Compilation of Terrorist Acts

2004-11-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

*1990s....

January 15, 1990: The Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement bombed the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru.

May 13, 1990: The New People's Army (NPA) killed two U.S. Air Force personnel near Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.

January 18-19, 1991: Iraqi agents planted bombs at the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia's home residence and at the USIS library in Manila.

January 17-21, 1992: A senior official of the corporation Philippine Geothermal was kidnapped in Manila by the Red Scorpion Group, and two U.S. businessmen were seized independently by the National Liberation Army and by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

March 17, 1992: Hizballah claimed responsibility for a blast that leveled the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, causing the deaths of 29 and wounding 242.

January 31, 1993: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) terrorists kidnapped three U.S. missionaries.

February 26, 1993: The World Trade Center in New York City was badly damaged when a car bomb planted by Islamic terrorists explodes in an underground garage. The bomb left six people dead and 1,000 injured. The men carrying out the attack were followers of Umar Abd al-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric who preached in the New York City area.

April 14, 1993: The Iraqi intelligence service attempted to assassinate former U.S. President George Bush during a visit to Kuwait. In retaliation, the U.S. launched a cruise missile attack 2 months later on the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

February 25, 1994: Jewish right-wing extremist and U.S. citizen Baruch Goldstein machine-gunned Moslem worshippers at a mosque in West Bank town of Hebron, killing 29 and wounding about 150.

September 23, 1994: FARC rebels kidnapped U.S. citizen Thomas Hargrove in Colombia.
December 24, 1994: Members of the Armed Islamic Group seized an Air France Flight to Algeria. The four terrorists were killed during a rescue effort.

March 8, 1995: Two unidentified gunmen killed two U.S. diplomats and wounded a third in Karachi, Pakistan.

March 20, 1995: Twelve persons were killed, and 5,700 were injured in a Sarin nerve gas attack on a crowded subway station in the center of Tokyo, Japan. A similar attack occurred nearly simultaneously in the Yokohama subway system. The Aum Shinri-kyu cult was blamed for the attacks.

April 19, 1995: Right-wing extremists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols destroyed the Federal Building in Oklahoma City with a massive truck bomb that killed 166 and injured hundreds more in what was up to then the largest terrorist attack on American soil.

July 4, 1995: In India, six foreigners, including two U.S. citizens, were taken hostage by Al-Faran, a Kashmiri separatist group. One non-U.S. hostage was later found beheaded.

August 21, 1995: Hamas claimed responsibility for the detonation of a bomb that killed six and injured over 100 persons, including several U.S. citizens.

September 13, 1995: A rocket-propelled grenade was fired through the window of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, ostensibly in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Serb positions in Bosnia.

November 13, 1995: The Islamic Movement of Change planted a bomb in a Riyadh military compound that killed one U.S. citizen, several foreign national employees of the U.S. Government, and more than 40 others.

November 19, 1995: A suicide bomber drove a vehicle into the Egyptian Embassy compound in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing at least 16 and injuring 60 persons. Three militant Islamic groups claimed responsibility.

January 8, 1996: In Indonesia, 200 Free Papua Movement (OPM) guerrillas abducted 26 individuals in the Lorenta nature preserve, Irian Jaya Province. Indonesian Special Forces members rescued the remaining nine hostages on May 15.

January 19, 1996: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas kidnapped a U.S. citizen and demanded a $1 million ransom. The hostage was released on May 22.

January 31, 1996: Members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rammed an explosives-laden truck into the Central Bank in the heart of downtown Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 90 civilians and injuring more than 1,400 others, including two U.S. citizens.

February 9, 1996: An Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb detonated in London, killing two persons and wounding more than 100 others, including two U.S. citizens.

February 15, 1996: Unidentified assailants fired a rocket at the U.S. embassy compound in Athens, causing minor damage to three diplomatic vehicles and some surrounding buildings. Circumstances of the attack suggested it was an operation carried out by the 17 November group.

February 16, 1996: Six alleged National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas kidnapped a U.S. citizen in Colombia. After 9 months, the hostage was released.

February 26, 1996: In Jerusalem, a suicide bomber blew up a bus, killing 26 persons, including three U.S. citizens, and injuring some 80 persons, including three other US citizens.

March 4, 1996: Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) both claimed responsibility for a bombing outside of Tel Aviv's largest shopping mall that killed 20 persons and injured 75 others, including two U.S. citizens.

May 13, 1996: Arab gunmen opened fire on a bus and a group of Yeshiva students near the Bet El settlement, killing a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen and wounding three Israelis. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Hamas was suspected.

May 31, 1996: A gang of former Contra guerrillas kidnapped a U.S. employee of the Agency for International Development (USAID) who was assisting with election preparations in rural northern Nicaragua. She was released unharmed the next day after members of the international commission overseeing the preparations intervened.

June 9, 1996: Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a car near Zekharya, killing a dual U.S./Israeli citizen and an Israeli. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is suspected.

June 15, 1996: An IRA truck bomb detonated at a Manchester shopping center, wounding 206 persons, including two German tourists, and caused extensive property damage.

June 25, 1996: A fuel truck carrying a bomb exploded outside the U.S. military's Khobar Towers housing facility in Dhahran, killing 19 U.S. military personnel and wounding 515 persons, including 240 U.S. personnel. Several groups claimed responsibility for the attack.

February 26, 1996: A bomb exploded at Tarragona International Airport in Reus, Spain, wounding 35 persons, including British and Irish tourists. The Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) organization was suspected.

August 1, 1996: A bomb exploded at the home of the French Archbishop of Oran, killing him and his chauffeur. The attack occurred after the Archbishop's meeting with the French Foreign Minister. The Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA) is suspected.

August 17, 1996: Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels kidnapped six missionaries in Mapourdit, including a U.S. citizen, an Italian, three Australians, and a Sudanese. The SPLA released the hostages 11 days later.

September 13, 1996: In Iraq, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) militants kidnapped four French workers for Pharmaciens Sans Frontieres, a Canadian United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official, and two Iraqis.

October 1, 1996: In Vladivostok, Russia, assailants attacked and killed a South Korean consul near his home. No one claimed responsibility, but South Korean authorities believed that the attack was carried out by professionals and that the assailants were North Koreans. North Korean officials denied the country's involvement in the attack.

February 26, 1996: In Sudan, a breakaway group from the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) kidnapped three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)workers, including a U.S. citizen, an Australian, and a Kenyan. On December 9, the rebels released the hostages in exchange for ICRC supplies and a health survey for their camp.

December 3, 1996: A bomb exploded aboard a Paris subway train as it arrived at the Port Royal station, killing two French nationals, a Moroccan, and a Canadian, and injuring 86 persons. Among those injured were one U.S. citizen and a Canadian. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Algerian extremists are suspected.

December 11, 1996: Five armed men claiming to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) kidnapped and later killed a U.S. geologist at a methane gas exploration site in La Guajira Department.

December 17, 1996: Twenty-three members of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) took several hundred people hostage at a party given at the Japanese Ambassador's residence in Lima, Peru. Among the hostages were several U.S. officials, foreign ambassadors and other diplomats, Peruvian Government officials, and Japanese businessmen. The group demanded the release of all MRTA members in prison and safe passage for them and the hostage takers. The terrorists released most of the hostages in December but held 81 Peruvians and Japanese citizens for several months.

January 2-13, 1997: A series of letter bombs with Alexandria, Egypt, postmarks were discovered at Al-Hayat newspaper bureaus in Washington, New York City, London, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Three similar devices, also postmarked in Egypt, were found at a prison facility in Leavenworth, Kansas. Bomb disposal experts defused all the devices, but one detonated at the Al-Hayat office in London, injuring two security guards and causing minor damage.

February 4-17, 1997: Near Komsomolabad, Tajikistan, a paramilitary group led by Bakhrom Sodirov abducted four United Nations military observers. The victims included two Swiss, one Austrian, one Ukrainian, and their Tajik interpreter. The kidnappers demanded safe passage for their supporters from Afghanistan to Tajikistan. In four separate incidents occurring between Dushanbe and Garm, Bakhrom Sodirov and his group kidnapped two International Committee for the Red Cross members, four Russian journalists and their Tajik driver, four UNHCR members, and the Tajik Security Minister, Saidamir Zukhurov.

February 14, 1997: Six armed Colombian guerrillas kidnapped a U.S. oil engineer and his Venezuelan pilot in Apure, Venezuela. The kidnappers released the Venezuelan pilot on February 22. According to authorities, the FARC is responsible for the kidnapping.

February 23, 1997: A Palestinian gunman opened fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland, and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claimed this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine."

February 24, 1997: National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas kidnapped a U.S. citizen employed by a Las Vegas gold corporation who was scouting a gold mining operation in Colombia. The ELN demanded a ransom of $2.5 million.

March 7, 1997: FARC guerrillas kidnapped a U.S. mining employee and his Colombian colleague who were searching for gold in Colombia. On November 16, the rebels released the two hostages after receiving a $50,000 ransom.

July 12, 1997: A bomb exploded at the Hotel Nacional in Havana, injuring three persons and causing minor damage. A previously unknown group calling itself the Military Liberation Union claimed responsibility.

September 4, 1997: Three suicide bombers of Hamas detonated bombs in the Ben Yehuda shopping mall in Jerusalem, killing eight persons, including the bombers, and wounding nearly 200 others. A dual U.S./Israeli citizen was among the dead, and seven U.S. citizens were wounded.

October 23, 1997: In Colombia, ELN rebels kidnapped two foreign members of the Organization of American States (OAS) and a Colombian human rights official at a roadblock. The ELN claimed that the kidnapping was intended "to show the international community that the elections in Colombia are a farce."

October 30, 1997: Al-Sha'if tribesmen kidnapped a U.S. businessman near Sanaa. The tribesmen sought the release of two fellow tribesmen who were arrested on smuggling charges and several public works projects they claim the government promised them. They released the hostage on November 27.

November 12, 1997: Two unidentified gunmen shot to death four U.S. auditors from Union Texas Petroleum Corporation and their Pakistani driver after they drove away from the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi. The Islami Inqilabi Council, or Islamic Revolutionary Council, claimed responsibility in a call to the U.S. Consulate in Karachi. In a letter to Pakistani newspapers, the Aimal Khufia Action Committee also claimed responsibility.

November 17, 1997: Al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (IG) gunmen shot and killed 58 tourists and four Egyptians and wounded 26 others at the Hatshepsut Temple in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor. Thirty-four Swiss, eight Japanese, five Germans, four Britons, one French, one Colombian, a dual Bulgarian/British citizen, and four unidentified persons were among the dead. Twelve Swiss, two Japanese, two Germans, one French, and nine Egyptians were among the wounded.

February 19, 1998: Armed supporters of late Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia abducted four UN military observers from Sweden, Uruguay, and the Czech Republic.

March 21-23, 1998: FARC rebels kidnapped a U.S. citizen in Sabaneta, Colombia. FARC members also killed three persons, wounded 14, and kidnapped at least 27 others at a roadblock near Bogota. Four U.S. citizens and one Italian were among those kidnapped, as well as the acting president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and his wife.

April 15, 1998: Somali militiamen abducted nine Red Cross and Red Crescent workers at an airstrip north of Mogadishu. The hostages included a U.S. citizen, a German, a Belgian, a French, a Norwegian, two Swiss, and one Somali. The gunmen were members of a subclan loyal to Ali Mahdi Mohammed, who controlled the northern section of the capital.

August 1, 1998: A 500-pound car bomb planted by the Real IRA exploded outside a shoe store in Banbridge, North Ireland, injuring 35 persons and damaging at least 200 homes.

August 7, 1998: A bomb exploded at the rear entrance of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 12 U.S. citizens, 32 Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs), and 247 Kenyan citizens. About 5,000 Kenyans, six U.S. citizens, and 13 FSNs were injured. The U.S. embassy building sustained extensive structural damage. Almost simultaneously, a bomb detonated outside the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing seven FSNs and three Tanzanian citizens, and injuring one U.S. citizen and 76 Tanzanians. The explosion caused major structural damage to the U.S. embassy facility. The U.S. Government held Usama Bin Ladin responsible.

August 15, 1998: A 500-pound car bomb planted by the Real IRA exploded outside a local courthouse in the central shopping district of Omagh, Northern Ireland, killing 29 persons and injuring over 330.

October 18, 1998: A National Liberation Army (ELN) planted bomb exploded on the Ocensa pipeline in Antioquia Department, killing approximately 71 persons and injuring at least 100 others. The pipeline is jointly owned by the Colombia State Oil Company Ecopetrol and a consortium, including U.S., French, British, and Canadian companies.

November 15, 1998: Armed assailants followed a U.S. businessman and his family home in Cundinamarca Department and kidnapped his 11-year-old son after stealing money, jewelry, one automobile, and two cell phones. The kidnappers demanded $1 million in ransom. On January 21, 1999, the kidnappers released the boy.

January 2, 1999: A UN plane carrying one U.S. citizen, four Angolans, two Philippine nationals, and one Namibian was shot down, according to a UN official. No deaths or injuries were reported. Angolan authorities blamed the attack on National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) rebels. UNITA officials denied shooting down the plane. February 14, 1999: A pipe bomb exploded inside a bar, killing five persons and injuring 35 others. One Ethiopian and four Ugandan nationals died in the blast, and one U.S. citizen working for USAID, two Swiss nationals, one Pakistani, one Ethiopian, and 27 Ugandans were injured. Ugandan authorities blamed the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

February 16, 1999: Kurdish protesters stormed and occupied the Greek Embassy in Vienna, taking the Greek Ambassador and six other persons hostage. Several hours later the protesters released the hostages and left the embassy. The attack followed the Turkish Government's announcement of the successful capture of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan. Kurds also occupied Kenyan, Israeli, and other Greek diplomatic facilities in France, Holland, Switzerland, Britain, and Germany over the following days.

February 25, 1999: FARC kidnapped three U.S. citizens working for the Hawaii-based Pacific Cultural Conservancy International. On March 4, the bodies of the three victims were found in Venezuela.

March 1, 1999: 150 armed Hutu rebels attacked three tourist camps in Uganda, killed four Ugandans, and abducted three U.S. citizens, six Britons, three New Zealanders, two Danish citizens, one Australian, and one Canadian national. Two of the U.S. citizens and six of the other hostages were subsequently killed by their abductors.

March 23, 1999: Armed guerrillas kidnapped a U.S. citizen in Boyaca, Colombia. The National Liberation Army (ELN) claimed responsibility and demanded $400,000 ransom. On July 20, ELN rebels released the hostage unharmed following a ransom payment of $48,000.

May 30, 1999: In Cali, Colombia, armed ELN militants attacked a church in the neighborhood of Ciudad Jardin, kidnapping 160 persons, including six U.S. citizens and one French national. The rebels released approximately 80 persons, including three U.S. citizens, later that day.

June 27, 1999: In Port Harcourt, Nigeria, armed youths stormed a Shell oil platform, kidnapping one U.S. citizen, one Nigerian national, and one Australian citizen, and causing undetermined damage. A group calling itself "Enough is Enough in the Niger River" claimed responsibility. Further seizures of oil facilities followed.

August 4, 1999: An Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) faction kidnapped 33 UN representatives near Occra Hills, Sierra Leone. The hostages included one U.S. citizen, five British soldiers, one Canadian citizen, one representative from Ghana, one military officer from Russia, one officer from Kyrgyzstan, one officer from Zambia, one officer from Malaysia, a local Bishop, two UN officials, two local journalists, and 16 Sierra Leonean nationals.

October 1, 1999: Burmese dissidents seized the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, taking 89 persons hostage, including one U.S. citizen.

December 23, 1999: Colombian People's Liberation Army (PLA) forces kidnapped a U.S. citizen in an unsuccessful ransoming effort.

December 24, 1999: Five militants hijacked a flight bound from Kathmandu to New Delhi carrying 189 people The plane and its passengers were released unharmed on December 31.

*2000s ....

January 27, 2000: Police officials reported unidentified individuals set fire to a Citroen car dealership in Iturreta, causing extensive damage to the building and destroying 12 vehicles. The attack bore the hallmark of the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA).

May 1, 2000: On May 1 in Makeni, Sierra Leone, Revolutionary United Front (RUF) militants kidnapped at least 20 members of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and surrounded and opened fire on a UNAMSIL facility, according to press reports. The militants killed five UN soldiers in the attack. RUF militants kidnapped 300 UNAMSIL peacekeepers throughout the country, according to press reports. On May 15 in Foya, Liberia, the kidnappers released 139 hostages. On May 28, on the Liberia and Sierra Leone border, armed militants released unharmed the last of the UN peacekeepers. In Freetown, according to press reports, armed militants ambushed two military vehicles carrying four journalists. A Spaniard and one U.S. citizen were killed in a May 25 car bombing in Freetown for which the RUF was probably responsible. Suspected RUF rebels also kidnapped 21 Indian UN peacekeepers in Freetown on June 6. Additional attacks by RUF on foreign personnel followed.

June 8, 2000: In Athens, Greece, two unidentified gunmen killed British Defense Attache Stephen Saunders in an ambush. The Revolutionary Organization 17 November claimed responsibility. " June 27, 2000: ELN Kidnpapping, In Bogota, Colombia, ELN militants kidnapped a 5-year-old U.S. citizen and his Colombian mother, demanding an undisclosed ransom.

August 12, 2000: In the Kara-Su Valley, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan took four U.S. citizens hostage. The Americans escaped on August 12.

October 1, 2000: Unidentified militants detonated two bombs in a Christian church in Dushanbe, killing seven persons and injuring 70 others. The church was founded by a Korean-born U.S. citizen, and most of those killed and wounded were Korean. No one claimed responsibility.

October 12, 2000: In Sucumbios Province, Ecuador, a group of armed kidnappers led by former members of defunct Colombian terrorist organization the Popular Liberation Army (EPL), took hostage 10 employees of Spanish energy consortium REPSOL. Those kidnapped included five U.S. citizens, one Argentine, one Chilean, one New Zealander, and two French pilots who escaped 4 days later. On January 30, 2001, the kidnappers murdered American hostage Ronald Sander. The remaining hostages were released on February 23 following the payment of $13 million in ransom by the oil companies.

October 12, 2000: In Aden, Yemen, a small dingy carrying explosives rammed the destroyer U.S.S. Cole, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39 others. Supporters of Usama Bin Ladin were suspected.

December 30, 2000: A bomb exploded in a plaza across the street from the U.S. embassy in Manila, injuring nine persons. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front was likely responsible.

January 17, 2001: In India, six members of the Lashkar-e-Tayyba militant group were killed when they attempted to seize a local airport.

March 4, 2001: BBC Studios Bombing, A car bomb exploded at midnight outside of the British Broadcasting Corporation's main production studios in London.

March 9, 2001: Two policemen were killed by the explosion of a car bomb in Hernani, Spain.

April 22, 2001: Bus Stop Bombing, A member of Hamas detonated a bomb he was carrying near a bus stop in Kfar Siva, Israel, killing one person and injuring 60.

June 1, 2001: Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing of a popular Israeli nightclub that caused over 140 casualties.

August 9, 2001: A Hamas-planted bomb detonated in a Jeruselum pizza restaurant, killing 15 people and wounding more than 90.

September 11, 2001: Two hijacked airliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Soon thereafter, the Pentagon was struck by a third hijacked plane. A fourth hijacked plane, suspected to be bound for a high-profile target in Washington, crashed into a field in southern Pennsylvania. More than 5,000 U.S. citizens and other nationals were killed as a result of these acts. President Bush and Cabinet officials indicated that Usama Bin Laden was the prime suspect and that they considered the United States in a state of war with international terrorism. In the aftermath of the attacks, the United States formed the Global Coalition Against Terrorism.

December 2001: Man tried to denote shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.

April 2002: Explosion at historic synagogue in Tunisia left 21 dead, including 14 German tourists.

May 2002: Car exploded outside hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14, including 11 French citizens.

June 2002: Bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12.

October 2002: Boat crashed into oil tanker off Yemen coast, killing one.

October 12, 2002: Terrorists conducted bombings at three locations – mostly popular nightclubs in Bali, Indonesia that killed 186 people, mostly Australians, and left more than 300 others, including local Indonesians, seriously wounded.

November 2002: Suicide attack on a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 16.

May 2003: Suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

May 2003: Four bombs killed 33 people targeting Jewish, Spanish, and Belgian sites in Casablanca, Morocco.

August 2003: Suicide car-bomb killed 12, injured 150 at Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.

November 2003: Explosions rocked a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia housing compound, killing 17.

November 2003: Suicide car-bombers simultaneously attacked two synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 25 and injuring hundreds.

November 2003: Truck bombs detonated at London bank and British consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 26.

March 11, 2004: Ten terrorists bombs exploded almost simultaneously during the morning rush hour in Madrid, Spain. At least 202 people were killed when train stations and rail facilities were bombed by alleged Al Qaeda linked terrorists. More than 1400 were injured.

May 2004: Terrorists attacked Saudi oil company offices in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing 22.

June 2004: Terrorists kidnapped and executed American Paul Johnson, Jr., in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

September 2004: Car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed nine.

December 2004: Terrorists enter the U.S. Consulate in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, killing nine ( including 4 attackers ).

CNS Center for Non Poliferation Studies

Major Conventional Terrorist Incidents 1980s to 2000
Todd Harris, Jason Pate, and Gary Ackerman

The Center for Nonproliferation Studies has compiled the following list of significant conventional terrorist incidents from 1980-2000 to provide context for the terrorist attacks conducted on 11 September 2001.

Date: October 12, 2000 Target: Military Weapon Type: Suicide Bomber Summary: On October 12, 2000, a small boat (dingy) carrying explosives rammed the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. Seventeen people died and 39 US personnel were injured.

Date: September 1999 Target: Private Residence Weapon Type: Bomb Summary: In September, 1999, bombs exploded in an apartment block in Moscow, Russia. Ninety-four people were killed and 152 people were injured as a result of the bombings.

Date: August 15, 1998 Target: Government Weapon Type: Car Bomb Summary: On August 15, 1998, a 500-pound car bomb exploded outside a local courthouse in the central shopping district of Omagh, Northern Ireland. Authorities were in the process of clearing the shopping area around the courthouse when the bomb exploded. Twenty-nine people were killed and 330 people were injured.

Date: August 7, 1998 Target: Government Embassy Weapon Type: Truck Bomb Summary: On August 7, 1998, a truck bomb exploded outside the United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Two hundred and twelve people were killed and 4,022 people were injured.

Date: August 7, 1998 Target: Government Embassy Weapon Type: Truck Bomb Summary: On August 7, 1998, a truck bomb exploded outside the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Eleven people were killed and 87 people were injured.

Date: June 25, 1996 Target: Military Barracks Weapon Type: Truck Bomb Summary: On June 25, 1996, a truck bomb exploded near the United States’ Military Barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Nineteen people were killed and 515 people were injured.

Date: January 31, 1996 Target: Bank Weapon Type: Truck Bomb Summary: On January 31, 1996, a truck containing explosives rammed into the Central Bank in the heart of downtown Colombo, Sri Lanka. The truck bomb exploded causing major damage to the Central Bank building, an American Express office, the Intercontinental Hotel, and several other buildings. Ninety people were killed and 1400 were injured.

Date: April 19, 1995 Target: Government Building Weapon Type: Truck Bomb Summary: On April 19, 1995, a truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah building, in Oklahoma City, United States. One hundred and sixty-eight people were killed and 250 people were injured. Timothy McVeigh was convicted and later executed for the bombing.

Date: July 18, 1994 Target: Government Building Weapon Type: Car Bomb Summary: On July 18, 1994, a car bomb exploded at the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (AMIA) in Argentina, causing the seven-story building to collapse and damaging adjacent buildings. Forty-six people were killed and 200 were injured.

Date: December 24, 1994 Target: Airliner Weapon Type: Hijacking Summary: On December 24, 1994, four terrorists hijacked an Air Algerie airliner. Originally the terrorists intended to crash the airliner into Paris, France, but their plot failed. All the terrorists were killed along with four passengers.

Date: February 26, 1993 Target: Building Weapon Type: Truck Bomb Summary: On February 26, 1993, a massive truck bomb exploded in an underground parking garage below the World Trade Center in New York City, United States. Six people were killed and 1,042 people were injured; Ramsi Yousef and other co-conspirators were convicted for the bombing.

Date: March 17, 1992 Target: Government Building Weapon Type: Car Bomb Summary: On March 17, 1992, a car bomb exploded outside the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Twenty-nine people were killed and 242 people were injured.

Date: November 27, 1989 Target: Airliner Weapon Type: Bomb Summary: On November 27, 1989, a bomb exploded on an Avianca aircraft in Bogota, Colombia. One hundred and seven people were killed.

Date: September 19, 1989 Target: Airliner Weapon Type: Bomb Summary: On September 19, 1989, a bomb exploded aboard a French UTA airliner in Niger. One hundred and seventy-one people were killed.

Date: December 21, 1988 Target: Airliner Weapon Type: Bomb Summary: On December 21, 1988, a bomb in the baggage compartment of Pan Am Flight 103 exploded in midair, 31,000 feet above Lockerbie, Scotland. Two hundred and seventy people were killed in the explosion. Two Libyan nationals, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, were tried for the attack. In February 2001, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi was convicted of murder for carrying out the bombing and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah was found not guilty.

Date: June 23, 1985 Target: Airliner Weapon Type: Bomb Summary: On June 23, 1985, a bomb planted in a suitcase exploded on Air India Flight 182 and destroyed the aircraft. Three hundred and twenty-nine people were killed.

Date: October 23, 1983 Target: Military Barracks Weapon Type: Truck Bomb Summary: On October 23, 1983, a truck bomb exploded outside a building housing US Marines in Beirut, Lebanon. Two hundred and forty-one Marines were killed.

Author(s): Todd Harris, Jason Pate, and Gary Ackerman Related Resources: Terrorism Date Created: September 11, 2001Date Updated: May 29, 2002

storm city book one

Table of Contents

Title Page

Disclaimer

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Partial Storm City Compilation of Terrorist Acts