Philippine soldiers guard a wharf in Jolo island. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)JOLO ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 09 Apr) – A group of U.S.-trained Filipino soldiers raided a hideout of the Jemaah Islamiya in the southern island of Jolo on Moday and captured three local militants, officials said.
Officials said one of two Jemaah Islamiya bombers, Umar Patek, and a senior Abu Sayyaf leader, Isnilon Hapilon, had escaped the raiders in the village of Kanlimot in Talipao town, a known stronghold of the local terrorist group.
One soldier was also wounded in a separate clash Monday in Bakong village in Patikul town on the other side of the island.
“Three Abu Sayyaf terrorists have been captured in the operation. But Umar Patek and Isnilon Sahiron managed to escape. Troops are now tracking the high-value targets and we will not stop until they are neutralized,” Major Eugene Batara, a regional Filipino army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.
The spokesman said soldiers, members of the Light Reaction Company, trained by U.S. Special Forces, also recovered automatic rifles from the Abu Sayyaf hideout.
Besides Patek, soldiers were also hunting down Dulmatin and Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir and other Jemaah Islamiya militants hiding on the island under the protection of the Abu Sayyaf.
Jakarta tagged both Patek and Dulmatin as behind the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australian holiday-makers.
While Zulkifli bin Hir, an engineer trained in the U.S. allegedly heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization and is a member of Jemaah Islamiya central command.
He has been present in the Philippines since August 2003, where he is believed to have conducted bomb-making training for the Abu Sayyaf. His younger brother, Taufik bin Abdul Halim, a.k.a. Dany, was involved in the 2001 Jakarta Atrium Mall bombing and currently in jail in Indonesia.
Washington offered as much as $10 million reward for the capture of Dulmatin and $ 5 million for Zulkifli and Hapilon and another $1 million bounty for Patek. (Mindanao Examiner)
Officials said one of two Jemaah Islamiya bombers, Umar Patek, and a senior Abu Sayyaf leader, Isnilon Hapilon, had escaped the raiders in the village of Kanlimot in Talipao town, a known stronghold of the local terrorist group.
One soldier was also wounded in a separate clash Monday in Bakong village in Patikul town on the other side of the island.
“Three Abu Sayyaf terrorists have been captured in the operation. But Umar Patek and Isnilon Sahiron managed to escape. Troops are now tracking the high-value targets and we will not stop until they are neutralized,” Major Eugene Batara, a regional Filipino army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.
The spokesman said soldiers, members of the Light Reaction Company, trained by U.S. Special Forces, also recovered automatic rifles from the Abu Sayyaf hideout.
Besides Patek, soldiers were also hunting down Dulmatin and Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir and other Jemaah Islamiya militants hiding on the island under the protection of the Abu Sayyaf.
Jakarta tagged both Patek and Dulmatin as behind the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australian holiday-makers.
While Zulkifli bin Hir, an engineer trained in the U.S. allegedly heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization and is a member of Jemaah Islamiya central command.
He has been present in the Philippines since August 2003, where he is believed to have conducted bomb-making training for the Abu Sayyaf. His younger brother, Taufik bin Abdul Halim, a.k.a. Dany, was involved in the 2001 Jakarta Atrium Mall bombing and currently in jail in Indonesia.
Washington offered as much as $10 million reward for the capture of Dulmatin and $ 5 million for Zulkifli and Hapilon and another $1 million bounty for Patek. (Mindanao Examiner)
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