ZAMBOANGA CITY, 15 August 2004 — Military officials yesterday claimed the leader of the heavily armed Pentagon kidnap gang was among those killed in an assault on one of his southern Philippine hide-outs.

Military attack helicopters used machine guns and rockets to pounded the hide-out of Pentagon gang chieftain Tahir Alonto in the island village of Lumabao early Friday, killing at least 14 gunmen, said Col. Franklin del Prado, spokesman for the army’s 6th Infantry Division.

“The chieftain is gone, so our problem will be lessened,” del Prado said.

He said field reports from a marshy area where the village is located in Maguindanao province, about 960 kilometers (600 kilometers) southeast of Manila, said at least 14 gunmen were killed, including Alonto.

A report by the military’s Southern Command said Alonto’s house was destroyed after a direct hit from MG-520 helicopters. It said the house blew up after explosives hidden there were hit by rockets.

Other officials said army and police troops were combing the place in search of bodies after villagers told soldiers that at least 15 people were killed in the attack, including Alonto.

Other reports said those killed were immediately buried by other gang members.

Del Prado said troops were checking whether two Filipino hostages seized separately by the gang in November and February were in the village when it was assaulted.

Other officials, however, sounded a bit more cautious.

Col. Agustin Dema-ala, commander of the army’s 604th Infantry Brigade based in Sultan Kudarat province, said that unless there is physical evidence, Alonton would still be considered to be alive.

“Although we have received reports about his death, we cannot yet confirm it because, in the first place, we have yet to verify,” he said.

MILF Version

Eid Kabalu, spokesman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), disputed reports of Tahir’s death.

“We received information from our people on the ground that he was not killed but was seriously injured during the attack,” Kabalu told the Inquirer by phone.

But Kabalu said the MILF did not know Tahir’s exact whereabouts now.

He said he doubted that Tahir could be moved far. “We heard he had a diabetic condition and that it would be difficult to treat your wounds if you were diabetic,” Kabalu said.

Earlier, speaking on radio station DXMS, Kabalu confirmed that the house of Tahir was among those hit in the military bombing but there was no immediate information if Tahir was inside the house at the time.

Earlier military reports said Tahir had been having difficulty moving around because of his illness.

Kabalu said MILF rebels were helping authorities determine if Tahir was among those killed in the bombing.

“That’s what our group is doing right now. They are investigating in the area if Tahir was killed,” Kabalu said.

He said the area attacked by the military was difficult to reach because it was an islet in the vast Liguasan Marsh.

The islet is between Barangay Lumibao in SK Pendatun town and Barangay Midpakan in Sultan sa Barongis town.

Both villages are part of the Maguindanao side of the marsh, one of the strongholds of the MILF.

Successful

Still, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cited the military and police for the “very successful operation,” said her spokesman, Ignacio Bunye.

“The good thing here was that it appears there was no collateral damage on the part of the civilian community,” Bunye said in an interview with Radio Mindanao Network.

Alonto, a former Muslim separatist rebel who turned to banditry, was serving a life sentence for murder and kidnapping when he was helped to escape from a jail in southern General Santos city in 2000. There was a 1 million peso ($17,800) reward for his capture. Deputy national police chief Virtus Gil, who directed police special forces in the operation, said the assault followed months of intelligence buildup.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Narciso Abaya earlier ordered fresh offensives against the Pentagon gang and other terror groups, including the Abu Sufia and the Abu Sayyaf.

The order came a day after Abaya inspected a joint RP and US anti-terror training in North Cotabato’s Carmen town.

The MILF said it was supporting the government operations against terrorists and kidnappers.

“We have ordered our forces to moved away from Liguasan Marsh so as not to hamper the government operation against the Pentagon Gang. We are supporting government operation against the kidnappers and terrorists,” MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said.

Alonto was disowned by the MILF as one of its members after he engaged in kidnapping activities.

Kabalu said the MILF and the Philippine government had struck a deal that would allow both forces to work together to curb criminalities and terrorism in the south.

Del Prado said local army and police commanders gave assurances that the operation would not spread to neighboring areas — often a concern for both rebels and local officials. The government and the MILF rebels have signed a cease-fire, while negotiators are crafting a political settlement to end more than three decades of Muslim rebellion in the southern Philippines.

Peace Talks

Negotiators from the MILF and Manila are to begin a fresh round of peace talks next week in Kuala Lumpur in an effort to end more than three decades of fighting in the southern island of Mindanao. “The talks would be held next week in Kuala Lumpur and the MILF is ready,” Kabalu told Arab News.

He said both sides are likely to discuss the terms of reference for the deployment of international cease-fire observers in Mindanao and the withdrawal of criminal charges against dozens of MILF leaders, including Chairman Murad Ebrahim.

Authorities implicated them in two deadly bombings in Davao City in 2002 that left dozens of civilians dead and wounded. The Abu Sayyaf, a small but the most violent rebel group in Mindanao, has claimed responsibility for bombing Sasa Wharf and the Davao City International Airport, but the government had blamed the MILF.

The MILF earlier demanded the pullout of government soldiers from Buliok, a mountain complex near North Cotabato province previously used as rebel headquarters. Last month, security forces began withdrawing from the area, but several hundreds are still encamped in Buliok, Kabalu said.

“The new talks are likely to discuss the government’s withdrawal of criminal charges against the MILF personalities and the terms of reference for the deployment in Mindanao of the international cease-fire monitoring team,” he said. Kabalu said the MILF peace panel would be headed by Mohagher Iqbal and Lanang Ali. Silvestre Afable heads the government panel. “We are optimistic the talks would be fruitful and cordial,” he said. (Additional report from INS, AP)