RP Military Says 80 Sayyafs Dead In Fierce Jolo Fighting

Above, hearse carrying coffins of slain soldiers on its way to a chapel in Zamboanga City and below, Maj. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, Western Mindanao military commander, visits soldiers wounded in Abu Sayyaf fighting at a local military hospital. (Mindanao Examiner)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 06 Sept) Southern Philippines military officials on Wednesday said more than 80 members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group were killed in days of fierce fighting in Jolo island, where soldiers were trying to capture two Jemaah Islamiya leaders linked to the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia.

"We estimate about 80 or probably more are killed on the Abu Sayyaf side. Our soldiers fighting the terrorists reported as many as 80 Abu Sayyafs are dead in the fighting in Jolo island since Monday," Lt. Col. Susthenes Valcorza, a spokesman for the military's Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), told the Mindanao Examiner.

The number of enemy casualties in the fighting in Patikul town continues to rise and clashes also erupted Wednesday in the neighboring town of Indanan, also a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, he said.

"The offensive is going on. Troops are fighting in two fronts and we will destroy the terrorists," Valcorza said, but there were no immediate reports of fresh casualties.

Six soldiers killed on Monday in Patikul's clash were brought to a marine base in Zamboanga City and were given honors by the military. Four of 19 soldiers wounded in the fighting were airlifted to Manila for further treatment of gunshot wounds, while the rest remain at the Camp Navarro hospital here.

Maj. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, Westmincom commander, visited the wounded on Wednesday and distributed packed noodles and sandwich and gave P500 each to the soldiers. "You are all brave soldiers and we salute all of you. We are fighting terrorism here and we will crush terrorism," he told the soldiers. It was Cedo's 55th birthday.

Cedo said he ordered a naval blockade in Jolo island to prevent the terrorists from escaping. "We have forces at sea and our boats are patrolling the coasts and the terrorists cannot escape; we will get them sooner or later," he said.

Troops were pursuing Jemaah Islamiya bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek, who were with the group of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and Radulan Sahiron.

"All forces are now on the ground and with one mission and that are to destroy the terrorists. There will be no "let-up" in the campaign against the terrorists. We will not rest until we neutralize the terrorists and bring back peace in the province," Cedo said.

Last month, soldiers also clashed with the Abu Sayyaf under Khadaffy Janjalani in Patikul town and recovered Dulmatin's tools in manufacturing bombs, including remote-controlled detonators and other electronic gadgets.

The Philippine military said the Abu Sayyaf was protecting Dulmatin and Patek in Jolo island, about 950 km south of Manila. A small group of US soldiers involved in training Filipino troops were helping the local military in the hunt for Janjalani and Dulmatin and Patek.

The United States offered as much as $10 million bounty for Dulmatin and $1 million for Patek's capture and another $5 million for known Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Janjalani, its chieftain. President Gloria Arroyo also put up P100 million rewards for the capture of the group's leaders and their members dead or alive.