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Tuesday, September 05, 2006
5 soldiers killed, 20 wounded in Sulu clashes
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- At least five soldiers were killed and 20 more wounded in fierce clashes Monday with Abu Sayyaf militants in the island of Jolo in Sulu, where security forces are pursuing two Jemaah Islamiya terrorists blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings.
Other reports placed the number of soldiers who died at six and those who were wounded at 19.
Army Major General Eugenio Cedo, a regional military commander, said an undetermined number of gunmen were killed in the fighting before sunrise in the mountain village of Tugas in Patikul town.
"Five soldiers are dead and some 20 wounded in the fighting in Patikul. The fighting broke out after troops raided a hideout of the Abu Sayyaf and JI militants Dulmatin and Umar Patek in Patikul," he said. "We have reports saying that many Abu Sayyaf terrorists are also killed and wounded."
Authorities are withholding the identities of the government casualties because their families have
yet to be informed. The military said it will provide assistance to the families of the slain soldiers.
In Manila, Colonel Allan Luga, military's Command Center chief, said the three "high-value targets," namely, Janjalani and JI bombers Dulmatin and Patek, were guarded by at least 200 followers and supporters and were able to flee after more than two hours of close-quarter battle.
Luga said in a press briefing that elements of the 3rd Marine Battalion Landing Team swooped down on the thickly forested enemy lair in Tuga village in Patikul town at around 4:30 a.m. after receiving intelligence information that the targets are in the area.
Aside from the Janjalani, Dulmatin, and Patek -- who allegedly masterminded the deadly Bali bombing a few years ago -- those who were with the Abu Sayyaf were group leaders Abu Sulaiman, Isnilon Hapilon, and Radullan Sahiron,
said Luga.
Luga said MG-520 attack helicopters fired rockets towards the enemy position. At around 7 a.m., Luga said the firefight ended after the enemy retreated towards Mt. Sinumaan, also in Patikul town. Soldiers were pursuing them on Monday.
He said the number of government casualties was "expected because they (Marines) are the ones attacking on a defensive
position of the Abu Sayyaf who are entrenched in this area."
Cedo said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sent a cell phone text message to the soldiers fighting in Jolo. "My prayers for our troops," Arroyo said in her text message, which Cedo forwarded to the soldiers.
"We are pursuing about 100 terrorists. We hit the groups of the Abu Sayyaf and Dulmatin; at least three groups of terrorists. The fighting is fierce and we have deployed attack helicopters to take down the terrorists. We will not allow them to terrorize Jolo and innocent civilians," Cedo said.
More troops, including those with the military's Joint Task Force Comet--a composite team tasked to go after terrorists, were sent to Patikul, where militants have splintered into smaller groups, to help Marine forces pursuing Janjalani.
Luga said the Monday encounter only proves that Janjalani and the two JI bombers did not escape the island province of Sulu. Last week, reports surfaced that the three have already fled to Basilan, another Sayyaf bailiwick.
Marine spokesman Ariel Caculitan said the Marine soldiers engaged the enemy within a distance of five meters.
Caculitan also said the soldiers were taken by surprise by the large number of Sayyaf members but refused to say the number of troops involved in the operation.
The military offensive against Janjalani's group began last August 1. Since the campaign started, Luga said eight soldiers and a policeman have died and 56 have been injured.
On the other hand, Luga said 10 Abu Sayyaf men have been killed based on the bodies they have recovered in the encounter site. Also, seven other Abu Sayyaf men were injured and eight others were injured.
Armed Forces spokesman Jose Angel Honrado said the enemy casualties do not include those who were dragged along by
their fleeing comrades. It is a tradition among Muslims to bury their dead within 24 hours.
Honrado said the three "high value targets" were not sighted by the operating troops but claimed that there are strong
indications that they were in the area during the fierce fighting.
"We believe that our primary targets are in the area as evidenced by the concentration of (Sayyaf) troops or armed
elements in the area, and the fierce fighting that has been going on," he said.
Honrado said government forces were pressing on the campaign to get the "high-value targets." But the official said government troops are not bound by any timeline when to accomplish their task.
On the delayed neutralization of Janjalani, Dulmatin and Patek, Honrado said: "If you are going to see Jolo, it is easily said than done to capture them. Just look at the terrain, they are being guarded by hundreds of armed elements."
Last month, soldiers also clashed with the Abu Sayyaf under Janjalani in Patikul town and recovered Dulmatin's tools in manufacturing bombs, including remote-controlled detonators and other electronic gadgets.
The Philippine military said the Abu Sayyaf was protecting Dulmatin and Patek in Jolo island, about 950 kilometers south of Manila. A small group of US soldiers involved in training Filipino troops were helping the local military in the hunt for Janjalani and Dulmatin and Patek.
The United States offered as much as $10 million bounty for Dulmatin and $1 million for Patek's capture and another $5 million for known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani, its chieftain. President Arroyo also put up P100 million rewards for the capture of the group's leaders and their members dead or alive. (Al Jacinto/VR/Sunnex)
(September 5, 2006 issue)
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