Around the World: Philippines

Official sees end of attacks

The Al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group will be quashed by the end of the year 2010 as the military steps up its offensives against the infighting- plagued militants, a senior military official said yesterday. But Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr, chief spokesman of the armed forces, promised to complement the military operations with development projects that aim to solve severe poverty in southern Philippines, believed by experts to be the root cause of insurgency.