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Sunday, January 21, 2007
Tests confirm death of Sayyaf head
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon on Saturday confirmed the death of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, citing DNA test conducted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on his remains exhumed last month.
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"The Armed Forces of the Philippines is proud to announce that we have neutralized the center of gravity of terrorism in the Philippines," Esperon said.
The news came four days after US-backed Philippine troops killed senior Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Sulaiman, marking a major victory in a US-backed campaign to wipe out Islamic militants in the south of the archipelago after years of bombings and kidnappings.
Esperon said US Ambassador Kristie Kenney provided the military with the FBI report on Saturday morning. "The FBI test states that the cadaver recovered last December 27 is that of Khadaffy Janjalani, the acknowledged leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group," he said.
"It (test) is complete, it's conclusive. Just be reassured that whatever should be established have been established, including maternal and paternal lines. When you compare two samples, you will know the maternal and paternal links," said Esperon.
Esperon said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was informed of the US findings, "President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is very happy to extend her congratulations to our officers and troops in the field," said Esperon.
Malacañang promised to continue its fight against poverty to prevent terrorist groups from recruiting new members.
The US Government congratulated the Arroyo government on Saturday for the confirmed death of Janjalani.
In a statement, the US Embassy said the death of Janjalani is a "major step forward in the fight against terrorism in the Philippines and in the global war on terror."
"The death of Khaddafy Janjalani is an important and positive step forward in the ultimate goal of eliminating the ruthless and dangerous Abu Sayyaf Group, and in destroying its links with international terrorist groups such as the Jemaah Islamiya. The US will continue to work with partners in the Philippines' military, law enforcement, and national and local governments to bring terrorists to justice and to build peace and prosperity in Mindanao and throughout the Philippines," the US embassy said in its statement.
It noted that Janjalani has been pursued by the Philippines and the US for his involvement in several terrorist attacks, kidnappings and murders.
Janjalani, who carried a US$5 million (euro3.86 million) bounty on his head offered by Washington, had been arrested but escaped from a detention cell at the national police headquarters in 1995. He took over as Abu Sayyaf chieftain after his elder brother, group founder Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, was killed in 1998.
Janjalani was killed in a clash with soldiers on southern Jolo island on Sept. 4, about a month after the military launched a major offensive there.
US-backed Philippine troops launched an offensive dubbed the "Oplan Ultimatum" on Aug. 1 on Jolo, about 950 kilometers (600 miles) south of Manila, targeting Janjalani, other Abu Sayyaf leaders, and two top Indonesian terror suspects - Dulmatin and Umar Patek. Dulmatin and Patek are blamed for the October 2002 Bali, Indonesia, bombings that killed 202 people, and also have provided bomb-making training to Indonesian and Filipino Muslim extremists.
Esperon said a total of 65 Abu Sayyaf leaders and members have been neutralized since Oplan Ultimatum commenced on August 1 last year. On the other hand, government forces already suffered 24 deaths, including a policeman, in 30 encounters.
"I must say that Operations Ultimatum is on track and we believe that we will continue to get the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah. The operations will continue, we will go after Dulmatin and the other remnants of these terrorist groups," he said.
Dulmatin, brains of the bloody bombings in Bali, Indonesia in October 2002, is the JI operative actively operating in Mindanao. He and a fellow JI operative, Omar Patek, were last reported to be in the company of Janjalani in Sulu.
He said they received information that Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon have taken over the top Abu Sayyaf post since Janjalani's death. A Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf leader, Hapilon was with Janjalani in Sulu when the military launched Oplan Ultimatum.
"He (Hapilon) could be the successor but they could probably not be able to match the ferocity of the likes of Janjalani and Solaiman but rest assured we will go after them," said Esperon to Hapilon and the other remaining leaders of the Abu Sayyaf.
Janjalani and his key commanders have accused of several deadly attacks in the Philippines, including a 2004 bombing that gutted a ferry, killing 116 people in one of Southeast Asia's worst terrorist strikes.
They also carried out mass kidnappings, including the seizure of dozens of students and teachers on the southern island province of Basilan in 2000, and abduction of 17 Filipinos and three American tourists - missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Guillermo Sobero - in from a resort island in May 2001.
Sobero was beheaded by the militants and Martin was killed during a military rescue in June 2002 in which his wife was wounded.
The director of the CIA, Michael Hayden, praised the Philippines and its cooperation with the US, saying Thursday, "In terms of what intelligence and military power can do, it's done it in this part of the global war" against terror.
Reluctant terrorist
Janjalani was a boyish-looking man who once strolled shopping malls and loved the urban lifestyle before being thrust into the violent world of Islamic extremism.
"He was not your typical Islamist," said Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Mendoza, a senior police official who interrogated Janjalani briefly in 1995 before his escape from captivity. "He would smoke cigarettes. (He) was not an Islamic preacher or warrior, but he was young and adventurous."
Janjalani, in his early 30s when he died, came from a small family with a Muslim father and a Christian mother and lived on southern Basilan island, a predominantly Muslim province in the southern Mindanao region - a hotbed of Islamic separatist violence.
Unlike his two brothers who fought at a young age against the Soviet Red Army in Afghanistan in the 1980s, Khadaffy Janjalani was not instinctively the ferocious Islamic warrior that he would later become, according to officials who have followed his life.
He grew up in the city of Marawi and never ventured into the countryside to train in guerrilla tactics - as many young Muslims did - to fight government forces for a separate Islamic state, according to a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Peaceful burial
Meanwhile, Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad called on the people of Basilan to "bury him (Janjalani) in peace," following confirmation by authorities of his death.
"Well and good. Let's bury him (Janjalani) in peace. I just hope the people of Basilan will accept the findings," Bishop Jumoad said.
"I congratulate the AFP, Pres. Arroyo for a job well done to finish, once and for all, the Abu Sayyaf leader," he told.
"The others will have a second thought in joining the Abus since the leaders are gone. It's difficult for them to find a replacement for Khadaffy. It's difficult because one has to build up his name. To be respected by members will take time," he said, when asked whether the bandit group could easily find a replacement for the slain leader. (AP/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (January 21, 2007 issue)
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