The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is an Islamic liberation
movement based in the Bangsamoro region in Mindanao and the
neighbouring islands. It is currently the largest Islamic
separatist group in the Philippines, with an estimated 15,000
members. The MILF seeks to establish an independent Islamic state
comprising Mindanao island (the second largest of the Philippine
islands) Palawan, Basilan, the Sulu archipelago, and the
neighboring islands. In support of this aim, the organization has
carried out a campaign of attacks against civilian and military
targets throughout the southern Philippines.
Recently, the group has been in the spotlight due to revelations of
links between key members and Osama bin Ladins al-Qaida network.
In 1999, the groups leader Hashim Salamat, admitted to recieving
significant funding from bin Ladin. As many as several hundred
MILF members from Mindanao are believed to have trained at al-Qaida
camps in Afghanistan, and to have established ties with al-Qaida
commanders. A number of the Jemaah Islamiah members arrested in
Singapore in 2000 admitted to having trained at MILF camps, while
one of the al-Qaida consultants who advised the Singapore cell
had formerly worked as an explosives expert for the MILF.
Just a moment of boliao-ness...
No flame pls
