ZAMBOANGA, Philippines - Abu Sayyaf rebels, saying they could quickly draw thousands of fighters into their ranks, are vowing to kill the American ''invaders,'' as they term the troops sent to assist the Philippines in its attempt to snuff out the vicious criminal gang.

Abu Sulayman, who described himself as a spokesman for Khadafy Janjalani, leader of the Muslim group, said in an interview that the rebels who have taken hundreds of civilians hostage and beheaded scores of others are waging ''a noble struggle'' to liberate Muslims in the southern Philippines from colonization and Christian domination.

''For more than 300 years now, the Muslims in the Philippines have faced and fought numerous invaders, foreign and local. Praise be to Allah that they were not successful in their version of the Crusades,'' he told the Globe by telephone, in the group's first interview since the US troop deployment was announced.

Sulayman said he was speaking from a mountain hideout on Basilan island, a 45-minute ferry ride from here, where the Abu Sayyaf has been holding a missionary couple from Kansas and a Philippine nurse hostage for eight months. The group beheaded a California tourist and a dozen Filipino hostages last year when the Philippine government refused to negotiate.

''Finishing us off, pulverizing us, that is the most repeated lie that we've ever heard,'' Sulayman said angrily of Manila's promise to destroy the group. The United States is sending 660 troops, including 160 to 190 special forces expected to arrive early this week, for exercises here on an urban military base and on nearby Basilan, the Abu Sayyaf's stronghold and a Muslim-majority island that is one of the poorest in the Philippines.

Sulayman dismissed government assurances that the US troops are coming for training and not combat, saying the United States is ''definitely'' preparing for war.

Seems like the Islam dogs run their mouths alot.

Let's roll!
[b][blue]NAKED[/blue][/b]

 Another bunch of thugs whose only agenda is to steal money.  Hiding behind a religion seems to be the norm.  If they have sympathy from the majority of Muslims in the south, the rest of the MNLF and people in the south would have joined forces with them, instead they are starting to see profits in the kidnappings.  The outcome with the SF helping the Phillipine government is that hopefully they will start running or die in place just like their fellow cowards in Afganistans.M33

Oh, we're going back to the PI are we?  Now would be a good time to revisit history.  I say return to the 1911A1 and scrap that M9 POS.

The time has come to see why people refer to the .45 ACP as "venerable".

Yeah, yeah.  We heard this same blather from the other crowd too.  Let's review:

Iraq, trashed and sent running[IMG]http://www.freakygamers.com/smilies/s2/contrib/edoom/blowingup.gif[/IMG]
Afghanistan, trashed and sent running[IMG]http://www.3dpcgame.com/cwm/s/contrib/geno/phaser.gif[/IMG]

Guess these folks want to be next[IMG]http://www.freakygamers.com/smilies/s2/contrib/aahmed/biggrin.gif[/IMG]