Troops Hunt Sayyaf In Basilan Island

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 19, 2007) – Security forces on Wednesday searched for Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for the killing of two soldiers in the southern Filipino province of Basilan, officials said.

Officials said two soldiers were killed and five more wounded in four hours of fighting in the town of Ungkaya Pukan on Tuesday, where gunmen fired on a helicopter transporting US soldiers on Basilan.

"There is an operation going on," Major Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said an undetermined number of militants were believed killed in the fighting. "We don't have body counts but we believed many gunmen were either killed of wounded in the clash," he said.

The town's mayor Joel Maturan said militants, backed by rogue members of the country's largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, aided the Abu Sayyaf in attacking marines in the area.

"The Abu Sayyaf and the lost-command group of the MILF attacked the marines and fighting was really intense," he said.

It was unknown how many villagers have fled the town for fear that the fighting would escalate into a bigger war.

On Tuesday, gunmen straffed a helicopter carrying American soldiers near the town. A small contingent of US troops are deployed in Basilan to aide Filipino troops in defeating the Abu Sayyaf, tagged as international terrorist group by Washington. (Mindanao Examiner)

US Chopper Attacked In Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 18, 2007) – A helicopter transporting US soldiers came under fire while flying over the southern Philippine island of Basilan, where local security forces are battling Abu Sayyaf militants, officials said on Tuesday.

"The chopper was hit by hostile fire. We still don't know if there are casualties," Mayor Joel Maturan, of Unkaya Pukan town, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Fighting was raging on Tuesday in the town where suspected militants attacked government soldiers, he said. "The fighting is intense," he said without elaborating further.

Major Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman, said the attack on the chopper occurred on Monday and that one passenger was injured after debris hit him.

"A civilian helicopter conducting a routine support and logistics flight with the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines was hit by small-arms fire over Basilan island."

"The helicopter landed at the airfield in Zamboanga without difficulty. One individual aboard suffered minor injuries from flying debris. All personnel are safe and accounted for," he said.

Maturan said the fighting erupted Tuesday after Abu Sayyaf gunmen, backed by rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), attacked government soldiers in Ungkaya Pukan.

"We still don't know if there are casualties from both sides," he said. Troops were pursuing the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan island, blamed for killing more than two dozen soldiers in sporadic clashes the past months.

A small contingent of US troops is deployed in Basilan to help Filipino troops defeat terrorism. The Abu Sayyaf is included in the US list of international terrorist groups and Washington offered as much as five million dollars for the capture of the group's known leaders. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP Troops Pursue Sayyaf Militants In Basilan Island

Coconut farmers sitting on top of bags of copra look at a government soldier patrolling the southern Philippine island of Basilan, where security forces clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for the beheading of ten of 14 Marines in Al-Barka town on July 10. Troops are backing police forces in the hunt for more than 130 Moro rebels implicated in the grisly killings. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 07 Aug) – Marines on Tuesday were pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants tied to al-Qaeda after a firefight in the southern Filipino island of Basilan.

More than 3,000 soldiers are on the island, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, to pursue about 130 Moro rebels charged for beheading ten of 14 Marines killed in fierce clashes July 10 in Al-Barka, a mountain town southeast of Basilan.

Officials said Tuesday’s operation yielded negative results, but troops continue searching for gunmen in Basilan’s treacherous jungle terrain.

Government soldiers clashed Monday with some 50 Abu Sayyaf fighters, backed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, said Joel Maturan, the mayor of Ungkaya Pukan.

Security officials said the fighting erupted in the hinterland village of Sungkayat in Ungkaya Pukan town after marine soldiers attacked the hideout of the militant group.

But the mayor said gunmen attacked the soldiers, sparking a 15-minute firefight.
“Patrolling soldiers were harassed by the Abu Sayyaf and MILF rebels, about 50 of them. There were no reports of casualties,” he said.

The military said troops clashed with the group of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Indama Puruji, who was implicated in the beheading of the soldiers.

The MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, denied beheading the soldiers and pointed to the Abu Sayyaf as behind the gruesome killings.

Police filed murder charges against 130 mostly MILF rebels and the military threatened to launch punitive action if the group do not surrender the murders.

Social welfare officials said more than 6,900 villagers have fled their homes since last month for fear they would be trapped if fighting erupts in Basilan island.

Many of those who fled have sought refuge from relatives, but local politicians insist they were refugees and asked Manila for funds to help them feed the evacuees.

Defense officials on Monday met behind closed door with the mayors and governors of Basilan and Jolo islands inside a military base in Zamboanga City to plan about helping those who fled their villages.

President Gloria Arroyo on Monday also sent a team of medical doctors to Basilan island to help the evacuees, but warned rebels not to harm them.

The MILF is the largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in the troubled, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)