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Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Troops raid Sayyaf hideout in Sulu
By Al Jacinto & Bong Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Troops raided Tuesday a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya in Jolo, where militants killed a marine commander and wounded two dozen soldiers in the latest fighting on the restive southern Philippine island, officials said.
Soldiers swooped down on the terrorist hideout in the mountain village of Tugas in Patikul town, but found the place empty, said Major Eugenio Batara, a regional army spokesman. "The place was empty, but troops were tracking down the terrorists," he said.
Batara said a marine lieutenant was killed and two dozen soldiers wounded in fierce clashes on Monday near Tugas village.
He said troops reported that they saw a foreigner, suspected to be either Dulmatin or Umar Patek, fighting alongside with the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul. "We suspect that it was either Dulmatin or Patek; we will get them sooner or later," Batara said, referring to the two Jemaah Islamiya bombers hiding on the island.
The Abu Sayyaf, Batara said, is coddling Dulmatin and Patek, blamed by Jakarta for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 mostly Australian holiday-goers.
Soldiers wounded in the latest fighting in Sulu were airlifted to Zamboanga City on Tuesday for medical attention at a military hospital, Batara said. "They clashed with about a hundred Abu Sayyaf gunmen, and we still don't know how many enemies were killed or wounded in the fighting," he said.
The fresh fighting erupted while government forces continued its offensive against the Abu Sayyaf bandits who are sheltering two Bali bombing suspects in Sulu province.
Batara said the first clash took place around 10:45 a.m. in Barangay Tugas, Patikul when troops from the Marine Battalion Landing Team-5 chanced upon the Sayyafs in the area.
The firefight lasted for 30 minutes, according to Batara.
The Abu Sayyaf bandits led by Radulan Sahiron fled to different directions when two MG-520 helicopters strafed them.
Two weeks ago, government forces also clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in the same area that resulted in the death of six Marines and injuries to 11 others.
The second clash ensued around 1:30 p.m. in Barangay Lantong in the town of Maimbung between the Army's 33rd Infantry Battalion forces and the group of Alias Doctor Abu Pula.
Batara Army troops on combat operation spotted at least 50 gunmen led by Abu Pula in the area.
The Abu Sayyafs fled upon sensing the arrival of MG-520 rocket-firing helicopters. The firefight lasted for more than two hours.
The identities of the slain and wounded soldiers were not immediately available. The slain officer was a second lieutenant while the wounded officer holds the rank of first lieutenant.
The offensive against the Abu Sayyaf started August 1 after Bali bombing suspects Umar Patek and Dulmatin, along with some 200 Abu Sayyaf bandits, were seen converging in the town of Indanan.
Patek and Dulmatin, who are members of the Jemaah Islamiyah, were tagged as the masterminds in the 2002 bombing in Bali, Indonesia that killed 202 mostly foreign tourists.
Batara said the troops are still in the area tracking down the fleeing Abu Sayyafs.
Washington offered as much as $10 million reward for the capture of Dulmatin and another $1 million for Patek's head. The US also put up another $5 million for known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani, its chieftain. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also offered up to P100 million bounties for the capture of senior Abu Sayyaf leaders -- dead or alive. (Sunnex)
(September 20, 2006 issue)
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