ZAMBOANGA CITY, 9 April 2004 — Troops killed six members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, including one of five leaders wanted by the United States for the killing of two American hostages in the southern Philippines, officials said yesterday.
Col. Rey Ferrer, the military commander in Basilan Island, said rebel leader Hamsiraji Salih and five of his followers — including a brother Sahir Salih — were killed in a clash that began shortly before noon in the village of Makiri in the outskirts of Isabela town.
One soldier was also killed and three more had been wounded, Ferrer said.
“We finally got Hamsiraji Salih. He is dead and that’s one terrorist leader down,” Ferrer told the Arab News by mobile phone from Basilan.
He said civilian informants provided them information about Salih’s hideout. “The information about the Abu Sayyaf turned out all correct and troops neutralized them,” he said.
Sporadic fighting continued in the afternoon as troops pursued other Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the island, Ferrer said. Those wounded in the clash were airlifted to the Southern Command military hospital in Zamboanga City.
US and Philippine investigators have implicated Salih in the killing of Californian Guillermo Sobero and Kansas missionary Martin Burnham. Sobero and Burnham were among 20 people abducted by the Abu Sayyaf gang in a resort in the southwestern province of Palawan in June 2001.
The victims were brought to Basilan, after which Sobero was beheaded to show to the government what would happen if their ransom demands were not met.
The other victims were either ransomed or have escaped but the Abu Sayyaf kept on to Burnham and his wife, Gracia. Burnham was killed during a rescue operation in the mountains of Zamboanga del Norte province in mid-2002. His wife survived and later wrote a book, in which he identified most of their captors, including Salih.
Washington has offered a $5-million bounty for the Salih’s capture and Manila put up another 5-million-pesos for his head, dead or alive.
Washington has blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf — notorious for kidnappings and beheadings — as a terrorist group and has also offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of its top leaders, including the chief, Khaddafy Janjalani and three others.
Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko, the military commander for the southern Philippines, said troops are on the trail of other Abu Sayyaf leaders. “They also have two feet, so it’s just a matter of timing, but we will also catch up with them in the end,” Kyamko told ABS-CBN television.
Galib Andang, another senior leader Abu Sayyaf leader who is not on the US list but recently was arrested, told authorities Salih broke off from Janjalani’s group over disagreements over ransom money.
In previous calls to local radio and televisions two years ago, Salih said the break was due to contradicting views and goals. He said he wanted to surrender and cooperate with the government to help the civilian population of Basilan, where he is based.
But Salih, who uses the alias Commander Jose Ramirez, said this was conditional on the military’s halting its offensive there, and warned he might change his mind and retaliate if the army didn’t back off.
Military officials said then that Salih was apparently feeling the pressure of the continuous military offensive. They challenged him to surrender unconditionally. (Additional report from AP)
