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Friday, August 17, 2007
Indon terrorist wounded in Sulu clash: military
* Armed contact with Sayyaf 'imminent', says Esperon
* Lawmaker calls for stop to speculations of US involvement in offensive
MANILA -- Government forces have shot and injured one of the key leaders of the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah who is staying in the island province of Sulu, said country's military leader.
Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the military has information that Dulmatin suffered injuries during the August 9 encounter with elements of the Army's 33rd Infantry Battalion (IB) in Maimbung town.
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Esperon was referring to fierce fighting between military troops and Abu Sayyaf forces backed by rogue Moro National Liberation Front (MILF) members last August 9 that left 15 soldiers dead and nine others injured.
Esperon said concerned military units are in the process of validating the information but the validation process may take some time.
The August 9 fighting also resulted in the death of 27 Abu Sayyaf and MILF men and injuries to several others based on "validated intelligence information." However, only five bodies of alleged rebels were retrieved by the troops on the encounter site.
The skirmishes followed an ambush staged by the Abu Sayyaf and MILF on Army soldiers at the hinterlands of Indanan town. The ambush resulted in the death of all members of an 11-man military team that was on "administrative movement."
"(It's based on) accounts of the troops involved in the operation, they gave the description," said Esperon, referring to the reported wounding of Dulmatin, who has a US$10 million bounty for his neutralization.
Apart from Dulmatin, two other prominent JI bombers are in the island province of Sulu. They are Omar Patek and Zulkifli Bin Hir also known as Marwan, who have US$5 million and US$1 million bounties for their neutralization.
In that encounter, Umbra Jumdail alias Dr. Abu Pula, one of the three Abu Sayyaf leaders in the Sulu province, was also injured.
Esperon said the wounding of Dulmatin and Dr. Abu will dampen the movement of the enemy. "If you have a wounded companion, the tendency would be to not really to engage in operations but simply to hide," he said.
He said armed contact with the Abu Sayyaf and rogue MILF members responsible for the killing of 26 Army soldiers in Sulu last week is eminent.
"We are optimistic that probably anytime we could register another encounter against them and probably inflict more casualties on the Abu Sayyaf," Esperon told reporters.
Esperon and Presidential adviser on military affairs Arturo Carillo handed financial assistance from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the families of slain soldiers and wounded personnel.
Esperon said there is no stopping the military from pursuing its offensive against the Abu Sayyaf and its cohorts. "We are going to continue this, we are confident that we could inflict more casualties among them," he added.
He said Army Chief Romeo Tolentino is in the process of establishing mechanisms with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), whereby MNLF regular members would be gathered in one area so that they would not be involved in the fighting. (VR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (August 17, 2007 issue)
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