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Saturday, July 12, 2003
Troops prepare for clash with Sayyaf
By Edwin G. Espejo
PALIMBANG -- Soldiers scouring the thickly forested mountains of a barangay in this Sultan Kudarat town have not yet seen any sign of the Abu Sayyaf group said to be hiding here, as more soldiers arrived to beef up the forces in the area.
Reinforcements from the Army's 25th Infantry Battalion and the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion backed by two Huey helicopters and three MG520 attack helicopters have arrived in the area.
Brig. Gen. Alexander Yano, 601st Brigade commanding officer, said they are anticipating a large encounter soon with the company-size bandit group led by Khadaffy Janjalani.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Narciso Abaya on Friday said he was confident the government forces in the area would be able to neutralize Janjalani's group.
At least seven companies of soldiers from the 601st Brigade and one from the mobile group of the Police Regional Office cordoned off several barangays here to fence in the Abu Sayyaf and seal off possible escape routes.
Yano said soldiers were also dropped near suspected Abu Sayyaf positions in the hopes of establishing contact with them, but admitted it was difficult to penetrate the thickly forested area.
Janjalani and around 70 heavily armed men reportedly landed in the coastal barangay of Libua here last Saturday on board three large outrigger boats (kumpits).
They reportedly had state-of-the-art communications equipment with them and three Arab-speaking foreigners in their company.
The group then moved towards the forested mountains to avoid detection.
They have since joined forces with two other kidnap-for-ransom groups operating in central Mindanao, the Abu Sufian and Pentagon kidnap gangs, Palimbang Mayor Labualas Mamansual said.
Two OV-10 planes of the Philippine Air Force dropped four 250-lb. bombs on a suspected Abu Sayyaf position on Thursday.
Informants of Mamansual reported seeing armed men scampering out of the area soon after the bombing run.
There were no casualties reported, however.
Villagers who saw the Abu Sayyaf land in Lubia said the bandits were armed with four M-60 light machine guns, two 90mm recoilless rifles, 21 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and assorted high powered rifles.
Meanwhile, Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko and Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga of the 6th Infantry Division on Thursday visited the area and gave instructions to Yano and his men.
"(My instructions are to) continue intensifying our operation until we can eliminate these kidnap groups," Yano revealed.
Yano also warded off criticisms that he did not exert enough efforts in cordoning off Janjalani and his group.
"Just like any military commander, we have to be not just deliberate but the aggressiveness should come on the right time and the right chance because we are dealing with lives here," he explained.
Early this week, Mayor Mamansual, more popularly known as Kumander Samroud, expressed impatience over the slow progress being made by the military.
Mamansual is a top Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander in the area before he surrendered to the government in 1982.
On Thursday, however, he praised Yano for his deliberate and calculated approach to the problem.
Yano assured Mamansual the government is progressing well and is confident they will soon be able to eliminate Janjalani and his men.
Yano, however, did not give any time frame on when they will be able to neutralize the extremist group.
In a related development, photocopies of pictures of suspected international terrorist were furnished Mamansual Thursday in the light of reports that Janjalani and his men were accompanied by three Arab-speaking foreign nationals.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States provided the pictures of wanted international terrorists.
A US$5-million reward has been put up by the US government for the capture of Janjalani.
The Arroyo administration has also set aside a P5-million bounty for his capture.
Janjalani took over the leadership of the Abu Sayyaf following the death of his elder brother Abdulradzak, a foreign-trained fighter who organized the kidnap for ransom group shortly after serving as a mujahideen at the Afghan war. Sun.Star General Santos
(July 12, 2003 issue)
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