Sunday, August 15, 2004 Kidnap gang leader killed in attack: Army
MANILA -- Tahir Alonto, chieftain of a heavily armed kidnap gang on a US terror organization list was among the 17 gunmen killed in a military assault, the military said Saturday, a day after the attack.
"The chieftain is gone, so our problem will be lessened," Col. Franklin del Prado, spokesman for the army's 6th Infantry Division said.
Alonto's hideout in the island village of Lumabao, Maguindanao was bombarded by machine guns and rocket from the army's attack helicopters Friday morning, killing at least 17 gunmen.
Del Prado said that field reports from the Liguasan Marsh in Maguindanao confirmed that Alonto was among those killed in the bombardment.
Alonto, a former Muslim separatist rebel who turned to banditry, was serving a life sentence for murder and kidnapping when he was helped to escape from a jail in General Santos city in 2000.
There was a P1 million reward for his capture.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) reportedly helped the military in the raid, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a radio interview.
MILF rebels, who are negotiating peace with the government at present, agreed to help the military in uncovering the hideouts of terrorists in Mindanao.
Bunye said, "the military coordinated with the MILF," in their raid on a suspected hideout of the Pentagon gang.
The President had extended her thanks to the MILF "for their cooperation in this operation," Bunye added.
Bunye however did not elaborate on how the MILF had helped in the attack on the Pentagon gang, made up largely of former Muslim rebels.
The gang had engaged in kidnapping for ransom and extortion in the southern Philippines for years including attacks on foreigners.
"These acts of justice and vigilance will continue to sustain the peace in Mindanao and pave the way for stability, progress and uplift in the conflict-affected areas," the President said in a statement.
"I commend the military for this operation conducted with nil collateral damage to the civilian community and without prejudicing the peace process," the President said of the operations conducted against the Pentagon group in Sultan Kudarat Pendatun, Maguidanao that resulted in the killing of 17 terrorists.
The President said the government has used the "hand of steel" in flushing out the notorious Pentagon kidnap gang from their lairs in Central Mindanao.
The 11,900-strong MILF had signed a ceasefire with the government in mid-2003 after the rebel leadership formally renounced terrorism and pledged to help the government identify and arrest "terrorists" in areas of MILF operation.
Bunye said the MILF's cooperation against the Pentagon gang had improved the chances that the government and the rebels could resume formal peace talks in Kuala Lumpur soon.
"We are just awaiting the timetable to be given by the Malaysian government which is hosting the negotiations," Bunye said.
Despite the ceasefire with the MILF, defense officials have previously charged that hardline commanders in the rebel group of sheltering members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network within their camps on Mindanao.
The MILF has denied the allegations and invited government officials to visit their camps.
The MILF has been waging a 25-year guerrilla war to set up a separate Islamic state in the southern third of the largely-Christian Philippines.
The Al-Qaeda-linked JI was blamed for the Bali bombings that killed 202 people in October 2002 and other attacks.
Southern military chief Lieutenant General Generoso Senga earlier stressed that the operation was a law-enforcement drive and not meant to break a year-old ceasefire with the separatist guerrillas.
"This is not targeted against the MILF. We are abiding by the ceasefire."
The army described the operations in the marsh, which is part of the General Salipada K. Pendatun town, as "intensive", saying the military wanted to topple the kidnappers, believed to be holding two victims.
The military pounded the area with bombs using two helicopters and they also deployed a company of soldiers on the ground.
He said they have sent notice to the government's representative to the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) who in turn coordinated with his counterpart in the MILF.
The committee makes sure that all agreements, including the ceasefire signed by the government and MILF, are not violated. If some of these agreements are violated, the committee is tasked to correct the violation.
Hostages
Del Prado said troops were checking whether two Filipino hostages seized separately by the gang in November and February were in the village when it was assaulted.
Deputy national police chief Virtus Gil, who directed police special forces in the operation, said the assault followed months of intelligence buildup.
Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said rebel forces had left the area after being informed of the attack by a joint ceasefire committee.
Del Prado said local army and police commanders gave assurances that the operation would not spread to neighboring areas--often a concern for both rebels and local officials. (Sunnex/AFP)
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