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Monday, January 01, 2007
Operation v. Sayyaf to continue: Esperon
MANILA -- Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said offensives in the jungles of Sulu against terror groups will continue despite the recovery of the suspected remains of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani.
Esperon said he spoke with Joint Task Force Comet Commander Ruben Rafael and 3rd Marine Brigade Commander Juancho Sabban, who are supervising the five-month "Operation Plan Ultimatum," and was informed that there had been no letup in the campaign.
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3rd Marine Battalion Landing Team operatives exhumed last week a decomposing body in Barangay Kabuntakas, Patikul through the information provided by four Abu Sayyaf members who had surrendered to the military.
The four claimed that the remains belong to Janjalani, who they said died following a clash with soldiers on September 4. Military officials earlier reported that Janjalani and one of his JI allies, Omar Patek, were wounded in the encounter.
Marine spokesman Ariel Caculitan said PNP Crime Laboratory Services and American forensic experts have already taken samples of the tissue from the remains. He said the results of the test may be available in three to four weeks.
"Their (Rafael and Sabban) operations are continuing. I talked to General Sabban whose men were responsible for the recovery of this cadaver and he said the operations are continuing although they recovered a body," said Esperon.
"They (Rafael and Sabban) are determined to pursue (the terrorists). The operations are being pursued without letup. So the recovery of this cadaver, let us leave it at that and if it's indeed Janjalani, as what I have said, it's a big point against terrorism," added Esperon.
He said there is a need to sustain the operations because they were not yet sure if the cadaver recovered was Janjalani's. "Our troops are doing whatever they can. They didn't go on a Christmas break and New Year's break. They themselves volunteered, so let us pray for their operations," he said.
At least 7,500 Army and Marine soldiers are involved in the operations that started on August 1. Aside from Janjalani and Patek, the other high value target being pursued by the government in Sulu is JI bomber Dulmatin. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (January 1, 2007 issue)
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