Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Military launches offensive against terrorists
By Bong Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is launching a massive offensive against top terrorists and ranking Abu Sayyaf members in the island province of Sulu.
Major General Gabriel Habacon, chief of the Armed Forces Southern Command, issued the order on Tuesday after receiving reports that terrorists and ranking Abu Sayyaf members at the top of the military's list were converging in the town of Indanan, Sulu province.
Habacon said the offensive against the terrorists is in line with the all-out war issued by the government against insurgents in the country.
"We have been planning and working for months to find and track the terrorist leaders in Sulu and the time is now," he said upon issuing the offensive order.
Given the task to pounce on terrorists and ranking Abu Sayyaf members are the forces under the Sulu-based Joint Task Force Comet headed by Brigadier General Alexander Aleo.
Aleo's command has under it a Marine and an Army brigade as well as Naval and Air Forces units.
Habacon did not however disclose whether the terrorists identified with Jemaah Islamiyah, who were allegedly recently seen together with top Abu Sayyaf leaders in Sulu, are included in the Indanan group.
Abu Sayyaf leaders based in Sulu include one-armed leader Radulan Sahiron and his son, Ismin, Al-Bader Parad, and Umbra Jumdail alias Doctor Abu Pula.
The whereabouts of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafy Janjalani and his lieutenants, namely Jainal Antel Sali, alias Abu Solaiman, and Isnilon Hapilon, are not known.
They had been on the run since the conduct of the RP-US Balikatan 02-1 in the island province of Basilan in 2002.
The Abu Sayyafs were responsible for the kidnappings of Filipinos as well as foreigners in the past years.
The group gained international notoriety in 2000 when they seized 21 people, including Europeans, from Sipadan Island Dive Resort in Sabah, Malaysia and brought the hostages to the forest of Sulu province. (Sunnex)
(August 2, 2006 issue)
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