ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 09 Jan) - Government soldiers gunned down a senior Abu Sayyaf leader blamed for the spate of terrorism in a clash late Tuesday in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, officials said.
Officials said troops killed Binang Sali alias Freedom in a firefight on a remote village called Anuling in the town of Patikul, a day after President Gloria Arroyo ordered security forces to intensify the hunt for the al-Qaeda-linked terror group. "Elements of the MIG 9, ISAFP and Scout Rangers permanently neutralized ASG-UTG leader Binang Sali," a regional army spokesman Major Eugene Batara told the Mindanao Examiner.
Batara was referring to the Military Intelligence Group 9, the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Army's Scout Rangers, deployed on the island five months ago to helped track down Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants, including two Bali bombers, Dulmatin and Umar Patek.
He said troops recovered the body of Sali and a .45-caliber pistol. "There is an ongoing operation to track down other terrorists," he said without further elaborating.
It was unknown whether Sali was alone or with his group and how the fighting started.UTG refers to the urban terrorist group, blamed for the spate of bombings in Jolo and Zamboanga City the past years. The group was implicated in the killing of a US soldier in a roadside bombingin Zamboanga City in October 2002.
Arroyo visited Jolo island on Monday and praised soldiers for their successful operation against the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya after killing an Indonesian Jemaah islamiya militant, Gufran, and five Abu Sayyaf gunmen in fierce sea battle of Tawi-Tawi island over the weekend.
The six were believed trying to escape for Sabah by speedboat when intercepted by security forces, according to Philippine military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon.
Last month, troops dug up the alleged remains of Abu Sayyaf chieftain, Khadaffy Janjalani, in the hinterlands of Patikul town. Janjalani was believed killed in gun battle with security forces in September and had been buried in a shallow grave until two captured Abu Sayyaf militants led troops to his graveyard.
US forces were helping the Philippine military defeat the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya in Jolo island.
American troops were providing intelligence and training to Filipino troops and were actively involved in humanitarian missions in remote Muslim villages to win the hearts and minds of the locals. (Mindanao Examiner)
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