A guard stands at the entrance of a business in downtown Zamboanga City, on Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, where Muslim insurgents have sown fear with bombings, abductions and executions. The U.S. Embassy has warned citizens not to visit, but local officials offer armed guards to tourists. Luis Sinco / Los Angeles TimesFrom The L.A. Times:
Zamboanga City is on the front lines of the Philippines' fight against terrorists, located in the troubled south where Muslim militants have been battling troops and hitting civilian targets.
Reporting from Zamboanga City, Philippines -- Restaurant owner Lyra Quitay is blind in one eye. Her arms, chest and legs bear painful black scars and her right hand is so gnarled that it resembles a claw when she signs her name.
In October 2001, a terrorist's bomb ripped through the claustrophobic downtown market where Quitay runs a tiny kitchen, instantly killing her security guard and blowing a hole in her life.
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My Comment: Guerrilla warfare has been a part of Philippine life since the 19th century .... but a religious war between Muslim and Christian is something different, and it has the potential to be something that can easily turn into something far worse than what it is today.