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Phiilippine police storm islamic militant holding Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7899151 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7899151 Philippine Police Storm Prison to End Uprising Mon Mar 14, 2005 09:10 PM ET MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine security forces fired tear gas as police commandos scaled the walls of a detention center in the capital on Tuesday where Islamic militants have been holding out for more than a day. Several loud blasts and gunfire were heard from inside the police compound in a Manila suburb shortly after an ultimatum issued by the country's interior secretary expired. Television reports said 300 policemen were storming the building, where more than 400 prisoners, including about 130 suspected Islamic militants, are detained. Police say a core group of 10 suspected Abu Sayyaf members have been holding out since killing three guards in an apparent escape attempt on Monday. "We have launched the assault and we are hearing successive explosions," Manila police chief Avelino Razon told radio. Clouds of tear gas hung over the compound and police SWAT teams could be seen scaling the walls of the building. At least one wounded prisoner was taken to one of several waiting ambulances. "We have no options left. This is a very difficult decision,' Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes told reporters just before the assault began. The building is one of the country's main prisons for Islamic militants. Police said the core group of rebels, led by an Abu Sayyaf member suspected of beheading an American hostage in 2001, had at least three handguns and could have other weapons smuggled in by friends and relatives. The incident is another embarrassment for the government after jail breaks by Islamic militants highlighted lax security at the country's detention centers. Police said the prisoners appeared to be led by Alhamser Limbong, alias "Kosovo," who is on trial for the kidnapping of tourists and workers from the Dos Palmas beach resort in 2001 and suspected of beheading one of the American hostages. He has also been charged with carrying out a bomb attack on a ferry near Manila last year that killed at least 116 people. Another high-profile Abu Sayyaf member held at the camp is the one-legged Ghalib Andang, alias "Commander Robot," accused of leading the kidnapping of 21 people from Malaysia's Sipadan island in 2000.

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