Soldiers kill 2 Abu Sayyaf 'assassins'

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Soldiers shot dead two brothers in the southern Philippines island-province of Basilan whom officials said were Abu Sayyaf assassins long wanted for a spate of killings and terrorist activities. "The two brothers were ruthless killers. They were behind the spate of killings of soldiers and policemen and even a journalist," a regional army spokesman, Major Eugene Batara, said Thursday. Officials said soldiers, aided by civilian informants, stormed an Abu Sayyaf hideout and killed brothers Anni and Iting Sailani in a clash Wednesday afternoon in Basilan island. A son of Iting Sailani was also wounded in the fighting. The brothers were implicated in dozens of killings, including the murder of news photographer Gene Boyd Lumawag, who was shot in the head by a lone sniper on Nov. 12, 2004 while on assignment for local news agency MindaNews on Jolo island. Lumawag, 26, was preparing a report on Aid al-Fitr, the Muslim festivity that marks the end of Ramadan. He was hit with a .45-caliber bullet in the forehead as he was heading towards the pier in Jolo town, according to the international media watch group Reporters Without Borders. Lumawag was one of dozens of reporters murdered and wounded in line of duty in the Philippines, which has been tagged as the most dangerous place for journalists after Iraq. -GMANews.TV