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Monday, January 08, 2007
Arroyo says terrorists doomed after weekend clash kills 6 militants (3:02 p.m.)
MANILA -- A sea clash that killed an Indonesian and five Filipino Moro militants proves terrorists have nowhere to hide, President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo said Monday during a visit to the southern Philippines.
The militants, including an Indonesian terror suspect from the al Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network and local Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, were killed Saturday aboard a motorboat off Tawi-Tawi province, 1,050 kilometers (656 miles) southwest of Manila, officials said.
Arroyo flew to nearby Jolo island on Monday to commend the military for the successful operation, saying it is proof that "these terrorist elements have nowhere to hide and are in fact already doomed to annihilation."
She also inaugurated a US-funded road project and a trauma hospital inside a military camp on the island, where US-backed Philippine troops have targeted Abu Sayyaf leaders and at least two top Indonesian terror suspects believed to be hiding in the jungles of Jolo.
One of those killed was a militant who goes by the single name of Gufran, a key aide of Dulmatin, a top Indonesian terror suspect wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia that killed 202 people, officials said.
Others killed in the clash were Filipino militant Judnam Jamalul, ranking Abu Sayyaf member Abu Hubaida, two key aides of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy
Janjalani, and prominent Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Sulaiman.
Jamalul is among 17 Abu Sayyaf members wanted by the US for attacks on American citizens. US and Philippine authorities had offered a US$20,000 (euro15,300) reward for Jamalul's capture.
The militants tried to escape the ongoing offensive on Jolo when they were spotted by Philippine Marines, who engaged them in the firefight, Marine spokesman Ariel Caculitan said.
Janjalani was reportedly killed in a clash on Jolo in September and troops recovered what were believed to be his remains last month. US forensic experts are helping verify the identity of the body using DNA tests. (AP) |
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