ZAMBOANGA CITY, 21 November 2004 — At least 10 Abu Sayyaf rebels were killed in a military airstrike in the southern Philippines, an army general said yesterday.
Brig. Gen. Raul Relano said the airstrike occurred Friday when troops sighted two suspected Indonesian “terrorists” along with about 50 Abu Sayyaf rebels at the border of Datu Piang and Saudi Ampatuan towns in Maguindanao province, 960 kilometers south of Manila.
Relano said the two Indonesians were allegedly members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) training local recruits in the area.
“They suffered a big blow in this operation,” he said. “I am awaiting reports on what happened to the two suspected Indonesian JI terrorists.”
Relano said the attack blew off two houses where the 50 Abu Sayyaf rebels and the two Indonesians were hiding.
The military said the Abu Sayyaf rebels led by Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Solaiman met with local Jemaah Islamiyah militant leader Mike Usman.
“One of our helicopters suffered minor damage when the terrorists fired back,” Relano said.
He said the attack was done in coordination with the joint cease-fire committee of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
But the MILF yesterday complained that they were informed of the attack just as the bomb runs neared their end.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu also complained that the bombs hit one of their known strongholds.
“They bombed an MILF area and wounded one of our member. We have protested this military attack to the government and our forces now are in heightened alert. We will remain in defensive position and will retaliate if the military would continue to attack our position,” Kabalu told Arab News by phone from an MILF camp in Central Mindanao.
He said hundreds of residents of the farming community of Datu Saudi Ampatuan fled to avoid the crossfire. One rebel was hurt and several houses destroyed in Friday’s attack.
Kabalu accused the military of using the Abu Sayyaf and kidnap gangs as “convenient excuse” to hit MILF communities, but vowed to carry on the talks.
“We will raise this issue in the cease-fire panel meeting next week in Pagadian,” Kabalu said.
“There are existing mechanisms to address this kind of problem. We will not allow minor incidents to waste the gains we have worked for under the peace process,” Kabalu told Reuters.
He also urged the Malaysian-led international monitoring team in Mindanao to investigate the incident to determine if it violated the cease-fire agreement between the MILF and the government.
Fighting between government militia and MILF forces early this month Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town, killing 7 people on both sides.
The MILF said the clashes were triggered by a feud between the military-backed militias and rebels in the town.
The truce observers have representatives from Saudi Arabia, Libya, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Bahrain and Japan.
The government and the MILF were in the process of resuming peace negotiations aimed at ending the more than three decades of Muslim rebellion in Mindanao. (Additional input from agencies)
