ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 21 Jan) Unidentified gunmen killed a government soldier near a known stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Filipino island of Jolo, ahead of the RP-US joint anti-terrorism training exercise, the military said.
Marine Sgt. Benjamin Bajao was talking to two Abu Sayyaf informers late Thursday in the village of Maubo in Patikul town when the gunmen shot him at close range. The assailants escaped with the soldier's personal belonging and his .45-caliber pistol, the military said.
Marine Sgt. Benjamin Bajao was talking to two Abu Sayyaf informers late Thursday in the village of Maubo in Patikul town when the gunmen shot him at close range. The assailants escaped with the soldier's personal belonging and his .45-caliber pistol, the military said.
"There is an ongoing operation in the area to track down the attackers," said Maj. Gamal Hayudini, chief information officer of the Southern Command.
The attack came as the Philippines and the United States are to hold joint anti-terror training exercises in Jolo, about 950 km south of Manila, next month as part of Washington's security assistance.
It was unknown if the two unidentified informers helped set up or were involved in the attack, but the town is a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf and scene of previous fighting between soldiers and militants, blamed for the spate of bombings and kidnappings in the southern region.
The military has relied heavily on intelligence provided by civilians and informants about the terrorist group. Many Abu Sayyaf leaders on the island were either arrested or killed with the help of informants in exchange for huge ransom offered by the United States and the Philippine governments.
Washington offered as much as $5 million bounty for known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani. President Gloria Arroyo also put up P100 million rewards for the capture of the group's leaders and their members dead or alive.
Just recently, Philippine and US military forces in Zamboanga City distributed an updated list of wanted Abu Sayyaf posters in the south, and gave away more than 5,000 bottles of mineral water labeled with photographs and bounty information of terrorist leaders. The US included the group on its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
Just Thursday, three Abu Sayyaf members implicated to the series of kidnappings and attacks on troops in Jolo had surrendered voluntarily to the military.
The trio Amin Julhari Jarad, 40; Mansul Nusuri Abdul, 35; and Julpadal Nusuri Pandithi, 24 handed over two automatic rifles and ammunition to the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9 in Patikul town, Hayudini said.
A military dossier on the three men said they were allegedly involved in the kidnapping of Jolo trader Ramon Inoferio in November 2004. Inoferio was rescued by government soldiers four months later in Maligay village in Patikul town.
It was unknown if the two unidentified informers helped set up or were involved in the attack, but the town is a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf and scene of previous fighting between soldiers and militants, blamed for the spate of bombings and kidnappings in the southern region.
The military has relied heavily on intelligence provided by civilians and informants about the terrorist group. Many Abu Sayyaf leaders on the island were either arrested or killed with the help of informants in exchange for huge ransom offered by the United States and the Philippine governments.
Washington offered as much as $5 million bounty for known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani. President Gloria Arroyo also put up P100 million rewards for the capture of the group's leaders and their members dead or alive.
Just recently, Philippine and US military forces in Zamboanga City distributed an updated list of wanted Abu Sayyaf posters in the south, and gave away more than 5,000 bottles of mineral water labeled with photographs and bounty information of terrorist leaders. The US included the group on its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
Just Thursday, three Abu Sayyaf members implicated to the series of kidnappings and attacks on troops in Jolo had surrendered voluntarily to the military.
The trio Amin Julhari Jarad, 40; Mansul Nusuri Abdul, 35; and Julpadal Nusuri Pandithi, 24 handed over two automatic rifles and ammunition to the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9 in Patikul town, Hayudini said.
A military dossier on the three men said they were allegedly involved in the kidnapping of Jolo trader Ramon Inoferio in November 2004. Inoferio was rescued by government soldiers four months later in Maligay village in Patikul town.
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