Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)

The Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), the breakaway urban hit squad of the Communist Party of the Philippines New People's Army, was formed in the mid-1980s. The ABB was added to the Terrorist Exclusion list in December 2001. The AAB is responsible for more than 100 murders and believed to have been involved in the murder in 1989 of U.S. Army Col. James Rowe in the Philippines. In March, 1997, the group announced it had formed an alliance with another armed group, the Revolutionary Proletarian Army (RPA). In March, 2000, the group claimed credit for a rifle grenade attack against the Department of Energy building in Manila and strafed Shell Oil offices in the central Philippines to protest rising oil prices. ABB has approximately 500 members and the largest RPA/ABB groups are on the Philippine islands of Luzon, Negros, and the Visayas.

Further Reading

Electronic

CDI (Center for Defense Information), Terrorism Project. CDI Fact Sheet: Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. March 27, 2003. <http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/terrorist.cfm> (April 17, 2003).

Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook, 2002. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/> (April 16, 2003).

Taylor, Francis X. U.S. Department of State. "Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001," Annual Report: On the record briefing. May 21, 2002 <http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/10367.htm> (April 17,2003).

U.S. Department of State. Annual reports. <http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/annual_reports.html> (April 16, 2003).