ZAMBOANGA CITY, 11 August 2003 — Government troops killed 3 gunmen believed to be protecting escaped Indonesian terror bomber Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi in fierce clashes yesterday in the southern province of Lanao del Norte, security officials said.
Seven soldiers were reported wounded in the fighting that erupted shortly before 10 a.m. on a hinterland village in the town of Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte.
The bodies of the gunmen were recovered by troops, the commander of the army’s 1st Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. Trifonio Salazar, said.
“Scout Rangers encountered an armed group in Sultan Naga Dimaporo, believed to be securing Al-Ghozi and killed three of them.
It was not clear which group the armed men belonged to, he said, although the area is a known stronghold of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is said by intelligence operatives to have strong links with the JI terror network.
Al-Ghozi escaped from a police jail in Manila on July 14 along with two Abu Sayyaf rebels Abdulmukim Edris and Omar Opik Kasak.
Edris, who had a 4-million-peso bounty for his capture, was shot dead on Thursday also in Sultan Naga Dimaporo town, hours after he and an alleged leader of the MILF, named Mahmood Ismael were captured on a military checkpoint.
Ismael was also shot dead after he and Edriss allegedly grabbed the rifles of their escorts while leading them to a supposed hideout of Al-Ghozi, said Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko, the military chief in Mindanao.
Attack helicopters have been dispatched to provide air support for the ground troops, Salazar said.
The fighting was in an area bordering the provinces of Lano del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, a known stronghold of Muslim separatist rebels, he said.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied reports that guerrillas from the 25,000-strong group could be aiding Al-Ghozi and warned that a large presence of troops in areas where the rebels were operating could provoke further clashes.
Both sides have agreed to a cease-fire ahead of resuming formal peace negotiations aimed at ending the MILF’s 25-year insurgency. “Hostilities would erupt if the military attacks our positions in the guise of pursuing Al-Ghozi and this hostile action against the MILF may threaten the peace talks,” Kabalu warned.
Kabalu also blasted the military for stepping up its propaganda effort in claiming that five MILF fighters surrendered over the weekend in Lanao del Sur province.
AFP chief of staff Gen. Narciso Abaya Abaya said the rebels were members of the MILF’s Internal Security Force operating in the province. Kabalu disowned the alleged surrenderers. “They are not our members. They could be bandits,” he said.
