TOP BRASS: Southern Philippines military chief Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon reads a newspaper Wednesday 08 Mar 2006 in Zamboanga City. Habacon praises the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the inclusion of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani and two of his lieutenants on its most wanted lists. (Zamboanga Journal)
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 08 Mar) The leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and two of his lieutenants were added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Most Wanted Terrorists and Seeking Information - War on Terrorism lists, alongside with Iraq's most wanted man Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarawi, and other international terror leaders.
The FBI announced the additions in a report to the National Association of Chiefs of Police published Wednesday and said the terrorists are being sought for their alleged involvement in various attacks or planned attacks around the world.
The FBI announced the additions in a report to the National Association of Chiefs of Police published Wednesday and said the terrorists are being sought for their alleged involvement in various attacks or planned attacks around the world.
Added to the Most Wanted Terrorists list, which was originally established in October 2001, are Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafi Abubakar Janjalani, his lieutenants Isnilon Totoni Hapilon and Jainal Antel Sali, Jr., and Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah, Abd Al Aziz Awda, and Mohammed Ali Hamadei.
Major General Gabriel Habacon, commander of military forces in the southern Philippines, praised the FBI on Wednesday for the inclusion of Janjalani and two senior Abu Sayyaf leaders to its wanted list and said the Philippines will closely work with US authorities in the so-called war on terror.
"It is a welcome development and we assure that we will continue working closely with the US government to capture suspected terrorists in the southern Philippines," General Habacon told the Zamboanga Journal.
He said there is an ongoing operation to track down members of the Abu Sayyaf in the southern region, including suspected Jemaah Islamiya militants believed to be hiding in Mindanao island. "The operation is going," he said.
The FBI said Janjalani, Hapilon and Sali are part of the terrorist organization Abu Sayyaf group, which is responsible for the kidnapping and murder of foreign nationals in the Philippines.
While Shallah and Awda have been indicted for their alleged involvement in racketeering activities for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group headquartered in Syria. And Hamadei has been indicted in the United States for his involvement in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of TWA flight 847, during which United States Navy Diver Robert Stethem was brutally tortured and murdered.
Also added to the Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list are Abu Mus’ab Al-Zarqawi -- sought in connection with numerous terrorist attacks and threats in Iraq; Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who is wanted for questioning for attacks in Kenya in 2002; and Noordin Mohammad Top, a member of the Jemaah Islamiah group which was involved in bombings in Indonesia between 2002 and 2004.
It said all 26 of the individuals on the Most Wanted Terrorists list have been indicted by federal grand juries in various jurisdictions throughout the United States. The ten individuals on the Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list are being sought in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States.
Major General Gabriel Habacon, commander of military forces in the southern Philippines, praised the FBI on Wednesday for the inclusion of Janjalani and two senior Abu Sayyaf leaders to its wanted list and said the Philippines will closely work with US authorities in the so-called war on terror.
"It is a welcome development and we assure that we will continue working closely with the US government to capture suspected terrorists in the southern Philippines," General Habacon told the Zamboanga Journal.
He said there is an ongoing operation to track down members of the Abu Sayyaf in the southern region, including suspected Jemaah Islamiya militants believed to be hiding in Mindanao island. "The operation is going," he said.
The FBI said Janjalani, Hapilon and Sali are part of the terrorist organization Abu Sayyaf group, which is responsible for the kidnapping and murder of foreign nationals in the Philippines.
While Shallah and Awda have been indicted for their alleged involvement in racketeering activities for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group headquartered in Syria. And Hamadei has been indicted in the United States for his involvement in the June 14, 1985, hijacking of TWA flight 847, during which United States Navy Diver Robert Stethem was brutally tortured and murdered.
Also added to the Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list are Abu Mus’ab Al-Zarqawi -- sought in connection with numerous terrorist attacks and threats in Iraq; Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who is wanted for questioning for attacks in Kenya in 2002; and Noordin Mohammad Top, a member of the Jemaah Islamiah group which was involved in bombings in Indonesia between 2002 and 2004.
It said all 26 of the individuals on the Most Wanted Terrorists list have been indicted by federal grand juries in various jurisdictions throughout the United States. The ten individuals on the Seeking Information – War on Terrorism list are being sought in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States.
“We will continue to bring all necessary resources to bear to protect Americans from terrorist attacks. The combined strength of law enforcement at home and abroad, with a vigilant and engaged public, will ensure success,” FBI Director Robert Mueller, III, was quoted as saying.
The Rewards for Justice Program, sponsored by the United States Department of State, offers rewards ranging from $5 million to $25 million for many of the terrorists.
Just last month, the US Embassy in Manila paid over US$100,000 reward to a Filipino in Zamboanga City who helped authorities capture an Abu Sayyaf terrorist Toting Hanno.
Hanno was suspected of taking part in the abduction of three American citizens — Christian missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, and Guillermo Sobero — from the Dos Palmas resort in the central Filipino province of Palawan in May 2001. Sobero was later killed and a year later Martin Burnham died in a US-led military rescue while his wife was wounded.
Hanno was arrested in May 2002, but escaped from the Basilan provincial jail a year later. He was recaptured in January last year on an island off Zamboanga.
Washington has already paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in rewards for the capture and killings of Abu Sayyaf members and leaders, including about US$359,600 to three men who helped locate Hamsiraji Sali, a key Abu Sayyaf commander who was killed in a clash with government troops in 2004 on Basilan island, about 15 miles south of Zamboanga City.
The Abu Sayyaf group is on a US list of terrorist organizations.
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