Above, Filipino soldiers during a military drill in Jolo island and below, navy seals test run new rubber boats. (Mindanao Examiner)ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 07 Sept) Philippine troops clashed before sunrise Wednesday with al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Jolo island and killing one gunman as fighting entered its 4th day, officials said.
One militant was also captured in the fighting that erupted in the hinterland village of Kandulan in Parang town, southwest of the island, about 950 km from Manila.
"One terrorist was killed and troops recovered the corpse. One has been captured and is undergoing interrogation," a military spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told the Mindanao Examiner, adding, there were no government casualties.
The fighting coincided with funeral honors the military gave in Zamboanga City on 6 soldiers killed by the Abu Sayyaf on Monday in Patikul town, north of Jolo. The bodies were brought by a military cargo plane to Manila and Cotabato City where grieving relatives were waiting.
"Their untimely demise will never be forgotten by their military superiors, their comrades, their friends and their love ones for they have shown utmost bravery and absolute sacrifices in fighting against the enemy."
"Though it saddened the whole AFP for losing our great men in the battle field, it is praiseworthy for they have served and absolutely sacrificed so that the people in Sulu will be set free from the bondage of terrorism and continue to live peacefully," said Maj. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, commander of military forces in Western Mindanao.
Cedo said the death of the soldiers will not delay the government offensive in Jolo. "Combat operations will continue until the enemy is neutralized or eliminated," he said.
The military on Tuesday said more than 80 Abu Sayyaf since fighting erupted on Monday in Jolo island. Soldiers were pursuing Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and were trying to capture two Jemaah Islamiya leaders Dulmatin and Umar Patek, both 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), said.
On Tuesday, troops also clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in Indanan town near Patikul, also a known stronghold of the militant group blamed by authorities for the spate of killings, kidnappings and bombings in the restive southern Filipino region.
Aside from the six soldiers killed on Monday, at least 19 more were wounded in the fierce clashes. Four of the wounded soldiers were airlifted to Manila for further treatment of gunshot wounds, while the rest remain at the Camp Navarro hospital here.
Cedo on Wednesday visited the wounded at a military hospital here and distributed packed noodles and sandwiches and gave P5,000 (not P500 as earlier reported) 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.
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 last month clashed with Janjalani's group near Patikul town and recovered Dulmatin's tools used 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, where a small group of U.S. soldiers involved in training Filipino troops, were helping the local military in the hunt for Janjalani and Dulmatin and Patek.
Washington 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.
One militant was also captured in the fighting that erupted in the hinterland village of Kandulan in Parang town, southwest of the island, about 950 km from Manila.
"One terrorist was killed and troops recovered the corpse. One has been captured and is undergoing interrogation," a military spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told the Mindanao Examiner, adding, there were no government casualties.
The fighting coincided with funeral honors the military gave in Zamboanga City on 6 soldiers killed by the Abu Sayyaf on Monday in Patikul town, north of Jolo. The bodies were brought by a military cargo plane to Manila and Cotabato City where grieving relatives were waiting.
"Their untimely demise will never be forgotten by their military superiors, their comrades, their friends and their love ones for they have shown utmost bravery and absolute sacrifices in fighting against the enemy."
"Though it saddened the whole AFP for losing our great men in the battle field, it is praiseworthy for they have served and absolutely sacrificed so that the people in Sulu will be set free from the bondage of terrorism and continue to live peacefully," said Maj. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, commander of military forces in Western Mindanao.
Cedo said the death of the soldiers will not delay the government offensive in Jolo. "Combat operations will continue until the enemy is neutralized or eliminated," he said.
The military on Tuesday said more than 80 Abu Sayyaf since fighting erupted on Monday in Jolo island. Soldiers were pursuing Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and were trying to capture two Jemaah Islamiya leaders Dulmatin and Umar Patek, both 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), said.
On Tuesday, troops also clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in Indanan town near Patikul, also a known stronghold of the militant group blamed by authorities for the spate of killings, kidnappings and bombings in the restive southern Filipino region.
Aside from the six soldiers killed on Monday, at least 19 more were wounded in the fierce clashes. Four of the wounded soldiers were airlifted to Manila for further treatment of gunshot wounds, while the rest remain at the Camp Navarro hospital here.
Cedo on Wednesday visited the wounded at a military hospital here and distributed packed noodles and sandwiches and gave P5,000 (not P500 as earlier reported) 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.
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 last month clashed with Janjalani's group near Patikul town and recovered Dulmatin's tools used 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, where a small group of U.S. soldiers involved in training Filipino troops, were helping the local military in the hunt for Janjalani and Dulmatin and Patek.
Washington 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.
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