ZAMBOANGA CITY, 19 January 2007 — At least 13 Abu Sayyaf militants and soldiers were killed in fierce fighting that erupted yesterday in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, where security forces were battling the Al-Qaeda-linked terror group, officials said.
Officials said two Abu Sayyaf gunmen were also captured by soldiers in the hinterland village of Timpook in Patikul town, where a gunbattle broke out shortly before noon.
“Troops killed at least 10 enemies and captured two others, but three of our soldiers also died in the fighting in Patikul town. The fighting is still raging in the area,” army Maj. Eugene Batara, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told Arab News.
Meanwhile, as she commended the Armed Forces of the Philippines for the killing of Jainal Antel Sali, Jr. alias Abu Solaiman, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo vowed to finish off the terrorist group with a “hand of steel.”
“The relentless pressure we have applied in the field is taking its toll and we will keep it up until all the terrorists and their clandestine cells are accounted for,” said Arroyo in a statement released yesterday.
“This government is determined to finish the job with a hand of steel against evil; and to usher in a durable peace through economic development, interfaith dialogue, and international cooperation,” said Arroyo.
Arroyo said the military operation was “another milestone” in the fight against terror, coming after the Philippines and other ASEAN nations signed a convention on terrorism in the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu City this week.
She said the government was determined to work with its “strategic allies” in the region and with the United States to tighten the dragnet, restrict the movement of terrorists, cut their financing sources, and prevent the movement of war materiel across the borders.
“We mark every high point in the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf and the JI with greater resolve to move forward in strengthening domestic, regional, and global security,” she said.
Arroyo added that the Philippines had a stake in a safer world where about eight million Filipinos work abroad.
The fighting broke out after soldiers caught up with a band of Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the village.
The military on Wednesday sent more troops to the troubled island to help hundreds of soldiers already on Jolo fighting the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants.
Security officials previously said that as many as six Indonesian militants are hiding in Jolo, including Dulmatin and Umar Patek, who were both suspected of playing a role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
On Tuesday, Filipino troops, guided by US military intelligence, raided an Abu Sayyaf hide-out on Bud Dajo (also called Mount Daho) in Jolo’s Talipao town, south of Patikul, and killed senior militant leader Sali. The latest fighting came ahead of a planned visit in Jolo of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before the start of new joint RP-US anti-terror exercises next month on the island.
The Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya are both in the US list of international terrorist organizations, blamed for the kidnappings of foreigners and a spate of bombings in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Philippine military vowed to crush the Abu Sayyaf group and the Jemaah Islamiya.
A Philippine Air Force C130 cargo plane transported soldiers and weapons from Manila since Wednesday to help hundreds of troops already in Jolo to fight the Abu Sayyaf. The offensive began in August last year when the military launched a series of campaigns aimed at capturing or killing terror leaders.
