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Friday, February 01, 2008
Mastermind in priest's slay killed in clash
By Bong Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- An Abu Sayyaf leader, whose group was allegedly involved in the killing of a Roman Catholic priest in Tawi-Tawi, was killed Thursday in a clash with pursuing troops in a remote village in the province.
Marine commandant Ben Dolorfino said the slain Abu Sayyaf leader, Wahab Upao, is in the government's list of wanted Abu Sayyaf leaders and members and has a P2.5 million bounty for his neutralization.
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Upao was believed to be the mastermind in the gun slay of Fr. Jesus Reynaldo Roda, said Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) Police Director Joel Goltiao.
Goltiao said Upao was the leader of a small band of al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits in the province of Tawi-Tawi.
A certain Asman Wajan, who is also allegedly leading a small group of bandits, was wounded during the clash that lasted for about an hour.
Dolorfino said operating troops of the 2nd Marine Battalion Landing Team caught up with an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf bandits led by Upao at the vicinity of Sitio Lubok-lubok in Barangay Buwan-buwan, Panglima Sugala town.
After a one-hour clash, Dolorfino said the troops recovered the body of Upao, an M-14 rifle, bandoleer, and documents.
He said soldiers were still pursuing the remaining members of the encountered terrorists.
"We have neutralized a high value target, he is responsible for the killing of Fr. Rey Roda," said Dolorfino.
He added: "There could be other Abu Sayyaf casualties, but only his body (Upao) was recovered."
There were also no casualties on the government side, he said.
A separate military field report on the incident had slightly different details.
Troops raided the suspected hideout of top Indonesian terrorist suspect Dulmatin in Tawi-Tawi's Balimbing township, but he escaped, said armed forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro, citing the report.
A clash ensued, resulting in the killing of Upao, Bacarro said.
It was not clear if troops sighted Dulmatin, who was implicated in the 2002 bombings that killed 202 people in Bali, Indonesia.
Dulmatin, a key operative of Indonesian-based militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, is believed to be in hiding in the south with local allies.
Upao had a pending arrest warrant for kidnapping, serious illegal detention, and mass abduction, including the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans and 17 other people from the western resort island of Palawan, officials said.
He was also believed to have led 10 fully armed bandits who swooped down at the Mary Immaculate Concepcion Church in Tabawan Island, South Ubian town, Tawi-Tawi and killed Fr. Roda, 54, in the evening of January 15 when the priest resisted their attempt to abduct him.
A vendor -- Asman Sawajaan -- was also killed in the incident while Omar Taup, a teacher of the Notre Dame High School in Tabawan Island and who was with Fr. Roda at the time of the incident, was taken hostage by the bandits.
Goltiao said they received information that Taup's captors are demanding P1 million in exchange for the release of the teacher.
The ransom demand, he said, was relayed through cellular phone to one of the relatives of Taup.
Goltiao said they learned that the ransom was reduced to only thousands of pesos since the Taups don't have the capability to raise the amount demanded by the captors.
He however said they are not involved in the negotiation citing the existing "no ransom policy" of the government.
He said, without mentioning a specific place, that Taup is being held captive in one of the islands accessible to the town of Bongao unlike Tabawan Island, which is an eight-kilometer boat ride away. (With VR/Sunnex/AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (February 1, 2008 issue)
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