ZAMBOANGA CITY: Philippine troops backed by US military intelligence on Tuesday continue to hunt for Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiah (JI) militants in the southern island province of Sulu, where dozens of rebels and soldiers were killed in fierce clashes since last week, officials told The Manila Times. Regional military chief Major Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino said troops were tracking down at least four of the most senior Abu Sayyaf leaders—Dr. Abu, Albader Parad, Isnilon Hapilon and Yasser Igasan—including two foreign Jemaah Islamiah terrorists Mauiya and Quayem and some 200 gunmen.

Mauiya, believed to be from India, was among those previously tagged by the Philippine authorities as behind the kidnappings earlier this year of three international Red Cross workers in Sulu. But little is known about Quayem.

“Our forces are pursuing the Abu Sayyaf and JI terrorists. We will get them sooner or later,” Dolorfino said.
He added that at least 34 Abu Sayyaf militants and eight soldiers were killed in the fighting since Sunday in the hinterlands of Indanan town. Among those killed on the side of the Abu Sayyaf was Ustadz Muktar, a cousin of Hapilon, who is wanted by the US for terrorism.

Dolorfino said that the US military has been providing intelligence to the Philippine military in the hunt for the terrorists. “The US military is providing intelligence support,” he added without elaborating.
US Special Forces have been deployed in Sulu province since 2006 and have been assisting the local military in defeating the Abu Sayyaf.

Police on alert

Police are also on alert against retaliatory attacks by the Abu Sayyaf after security forces captured one of their main camps in Indanan town.

Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, head of police in the capital town of Jolo, said he had received intelligence reports that the Abu Sayyaf plans to attack after their largest camp on the island was overran by troops.

He said police had set up more road checkpoints and were conducting more foot patrols.
“We are in heightened alert,” Pingay added. “We have intelligence reports that the Abu Sayyaf may launch an attack in Jolo, probably as retaliation to the ongoing military offensive.”

Jolo town, with a population of 140,300, is close to the captured Abu Sayyaf camp.
The Abu Sayyaf fighters had scattered after the fall of their camp following fighting on Sunday in which the military bombed their hideout.

Military spokesman Major Ramon David Hontiveros said troops only overran the rebel camp after learning that 220 Abu Sayyaf fighters were massing there, possibly for an attack on nearby Jolo town.
“We perceived this as a threat to the capital of Jolo. The presence of 200-plus Abu Sayyaf necessitated action by the armed forces,” he added.

Blow to al-Qaeda

Dolorfino said the fall of the Abu Sayyaf camp was a big blow to the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group.
The Abu Sayyaf was established in the early 1990s, allegedly with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s network, to fight for a Muslim state in the south of this mainly Roman Catholic nation.

The Abu Sayyaf relies mainly on extensive family relations to survive and thrive on the small island of Jolo, where small units of US military advisers are training Philippine counter-terrorist forces.
The seized Abu Sayyaf camp was near to the base of former Moro National Liberation Front rebels (MNLF), who were believed coddling the militants, Dolorfino said.

“The Abu Sayyaf camp was a convenient sanctuary because of the presence of the MNLF base and some former rebels are protecting these terrorists because either they are relatives or family members,” he added.

The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996, but many former guerrillas were disgruntled with the accord, saying, the Arroyo government failed to comply with some of its promises to uplift their standards of living. They accused Manila of failing to develop war-torn areas in the south.

Under the peace agreement, Manila would have to provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the south, as well as livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.

Many of the former MNLF fighters have joined the Abu Sayyaf and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is now negotiating peace with the government.
With Report from AFP