Friday, September 08, 2006
Troops kill Sayyaf gunman in continuing Sulu clash
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Troops clashed with al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants before sunrise Wednesday in Sulu province, killing one gunman as fighting entered its fourth day, military officials said.
The military also reported that Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and one of his two Jemaah Islamiyah cohorts were wounded in Monday's fierce clash with government forces in the jungles of Patikul town in Sulu.
Armed Forces command center chief Allan Luga, quoting information provided by civilians in the area, said in Manila on Thursday that Janjalani and JI bomber Omar Patek were among the 30 terrorists wounded in the three-hour firefight.
Luga said Janjalani, one of the five Sayyaf leaders wanted by the US, was reportedly hit by a bullet in the back. The US government has raised a US$5 million reward for the neutralization of the five leaders.
In Thursday's encounter in Sulu, one militant was captured in the fighting that erupted in the hinterland village of Kandulan in Parang town, southwest of the island, about 950 kilometers from Manila.
"One terrorist was killed and troops recovered the corpse. One has been captured and is undergoing interrogation," military spokesman Bartolome Bacarro said, adding there were no government casualties.
The fighting coincided with funeral honors the military gave in Zamboanga City for six soldiers killed by the Abu Sayyaf on Monday in Patikul town, north of Jolo. The bodies were brought by a military cargo plane to Manila and Cotabato City where grieving relatives were waiting.
Six Marine soldiers were killed and 19 others were wounded in the Monday clash with the 200-man group of Janjalani in the vicinity of Mt. Sinuaan in Patikul. The commander of the Marine platoon that clashed with the Abu Sayyaf placed the enemy's fatalities at 30.
"Their untimely demise will never be forgotten by their military superiors, their comrades, their friends and their loved ones for they have shown utmost bravery and absolute sacrifices in fighting against the enemy."
"Though it saddened the whole AFP to lose our great men in the battlefield, it is praiseworthy for they have served and absolutely sacrificed so that the people in Sulu will be set free from the bondage of terrorism and continue to live peacefully," said Major General Eugenio Cedo, commander of military forces in Western Mindanao.
Cedo said the death of the soldiers will not delay the government offensive in Sulu. "Combat operations will continue until the enemy is neutralized or eliminated," he said.
The military on Tuesday said more than 80 Abu Sayyaf had been killed since fighting erupted on Monday in Jolo island. Soldiers were pursuing Janjalani and Jemaah Islamiya leaders Dulmatin and Patek, both linked to the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia.
"We estimate about 80 or probably more are killed on the Abu Sayyaf side. Our soldiers fighting the terrorists reported as many as 80 Abu Sayyafs are dead in the fighting in Sulu since Monday," Lieutenant Colonel Susthenes Valcorza, a spokesman for the military's Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said.
On Tuesday, troops also clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in Indanan town near Patikul, also a known stronghold of the militant group blamed by authorities for the spate of killings, kidnappings, and bombings in the restive southern Filipino region.
Aside from the six soldiers killed on Monday, at least 19 more were wounded in the fierce clashes. Four of the wounded soldiers were airlifted to Manila for further treatment of gunshot wounds, while the rest remain at the Camp Navarro hospital here.
Cedo on Wednesday visited the wounded at a military hospital here and distributed packed noodles and sandwiches and gave P5,000 (not P500 as earlier reported) each to the soldiers. "You are all brave soldiers and we salute all of you. We are fighting terrorism here and we will crush terrorism," he told the soldiers.
Cedo said he ordered a naval blockade in Jolo island to prevent the terrorists from escaping. "We have forces at sea and our boats are patrolling the coasts and the terrorists cannot escape; we will get them sooner or later," he said.
Troops last month clashed with Janjalani's group near Patikul town and recovered Dulmatin's tools used 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, where 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 Janjalani, its chieftain. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also put up P100 million rewards for the capture of the group's leaders and their members dead or alive. (With VR/Sunnex)
(September 8, 2006 issue)
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