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Monday, June 16, 2008
MILF leader killed in shootout
MANILA -- A Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leader, who was linked to the abduction of two Italian priests years ago, was killed in a shootout Saturday in Kabalasan town, Zamboanga Sibugay.
The slain rebel identified as Akiddin Abdulsalam alias Commander Kiddie carried a P400,000 bounty for his arrest.
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Army spokesman Romero Brawner Jr. said Abdulsalam was killed last Saturday afternoon in Poblacion Kabasalan after he fought it out with government troops.
Brawner said Abdulsalam was the head of the MILF's Special Operations Group. The rebel group is on negotiation for a peace accord with the government although formal talks had hit the impasse on the issue of ancestral domain.
Quoting initial information from the field, Brawner said infantry and intelligence soldiers were about to serve a warrant against Abdulsalam for the kidnapping of Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi last year, but he resisted arrest.
Bossi, of the Pontifico Istituto Missioni Estere (Pime), was snatched by a group of armed men in the south on June 10, 2007, after celebrating a mass in Bulawan village, Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay. He was released 40 days later along the highway of Karomatan in Lanao del Norte province.
Brawner also said Abdulsalam also masterminded the bombing in front of the Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City on May 29.
He added that the slain rebel leader was also involved in the kidnapping of Italian priest Geuseppe Piarantoni in 2001 and the abduction of Filipino Chinese trader Marily Tiu in 2001.
Superintendent Jose Bayani Gucela, information officer of the Zamboanga Peninsula Police Office (ZPPO), said Abdulsalam was hit on the head and other parts of his body, causing his death.
"Two of his companions, who were not immediately identified, have managed to escape," Gucela said.
He added that the arresting team recovered a caliber .45 pistol and three units of cellular telephones from the crime scene.
Abdulsalam's remains were brought to the headquarters of the Army's 102nd Infantry Brigade in Sanito village, Ipil for proper documentation and disposition.
Post mortem examination was also conducted by the Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Crime Laboratory personnel and Dr. Emma Ruth Igloria from Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Hospital.
At around 6 p.m. Saturday, Gucela said, the rebel leader's remains were turned over to his relatives. Salipyasin village chief Ahmad Salipyasin and other officials and policemen from Kabasalan municipality witnessed the turnover.
Presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza meantime expressed confidence that the death of Abdulsalam would not derail the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and Muslim group.
Dureza said the troops were merely doing its job in enforcing the law when Abdulsalam and his followers engaged the Army's 102nd Brigade in a gun battle.
"Peace negotiation does not shield criminal elements from the full force of the law," Dureza said
He added that he is confident the MILF would understand the situation.
The peace talks between the government and the MILF has been on an impasse since late 2007 following disagreements on the ancestral domain agenda. (VR/JMR/BPG/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (June 16, 2008 issue)
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