Wednesday, February 19, 2003
10 killed in clashes in Jolo (3:15 pm)
ZAMBOANGA -- Seven Abu Sayyaf gunmen and three soldiers were killed in fierce fighting on Wednesday on Jolo island, where US troops are to deploy later this year, the military said.
Government troops met stiff resistance when they stormed a jungle hideout of the Abu Sayyaf, an armed group with alleged links to the al-Qaeda global network of Islamic militants, in the village of Tanum near the town of Patikul, military officials said.
Seven of the estimated 70 guerrillas in the camp were slain along with three of the attackers, military spokesmen here said. Seven other soldiers were wounded.
The military said the band is led by Radulan Sahiron, whose group is believed to be holding three Indonesian and four Filipino hostages, all kidnapped last year.
There was no word on the fate of the captives.
The military raided another Abu Sayyaf hideout on the Jolo village of Bandang near Talipao town on Tuesday, killing four guerrillas and sustaining one fatality of their own.
The Abu Sayyaf is considered a "foreign terrorist organization" by the United States, which has offered a five million-dollar bounty for the group's top leaders in connection with the kidnapping and murder of two Americans in the past two years.
Filipino officials said Tuesday that US troops could be deployed as early as August to Jolo, considered a haven for the Abu Sayyaf, to follow the hunt for the rebels.
US Major General Joseph Weber is to visit the Philippines over the next few days to meet with his Filipino military counterparts and discuss the Jolo operation, which was called crucial Monday by Manila for dealing with the terror threat posed by the Abu Sayyaf. (AFP) |
