MANILA, May 15 (Reuters) - Rogue Muslim guerrillas armed with crude bombs attacked the convoy of a key political ally of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the south on Friday, but he escaped unhurt, an army spokesman said. They killed a civilian bodyguard of Andal Ampatuan, a former provincial governor, and wounded three others in the attack near Shariff Aguak town on the southern island of Mindanao, said Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Ponce. "The attack bore the signature of the rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels," Ponce told Reuters by phone. On Wednesday, Abdusakur Tan, the governor of Sulu province off Mindanao and also an ally of Arroyo, escaped unhurt when his convoy was attacked by assailants suspected to be from the Abu Sayyaf group of militants. Ampatuan is a powerful politician whose extended family controls large parts of central Mindanao. He is also one of the president's closest allies, helping deliver votes that helped Arroyo win the election in 2004. His support to the government's offensive against Muslim rebels has made him a target and he has survived three ambushes attempts by Muslim guerrillas since 2001. Philippine troops have been fighting a rogue faction of the MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group, in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic state for about nine months. The MILF has been fighting for self-determination for nearly 40 years and the conflict has killed 120,000 people and displaced 2 million. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Newly crowned Miss Earth Philippines Sandra Seifert from the province of Negros Occidental waves after being declared the winner of the 2009 Miss Philippines-Earth during coronation night in San Juan, Metro ...
