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Two soldiers were killed during a clash with Abu
Sayyaf militants in Jolo, the military said Thursday.
Ten other soldiers were wounded
in the six-hour battle, which took place Wednesday in Sitio Marang,
Barangay Buangsa, Indanan town.
The clash came days after two
Jemaah Islamiah bomb-makers being harbored by the Abu Sayyaf escaped
a military raid on their base on Monday.
The two JI members, Indonesians
Dulmatin and Umar Patek, allegedly involved in the deadly 2002 Bali
bombings, have been hiding with the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf in
Jolo since late last year and have been the target of a massive
military operation.
The US government has an
$11-million bounty for their capture.
More than 8,000 Filipino troops
are on Jolo on instructions from President Arroyo to crush the Abu
Sayyaf, a small group of self-styled Islamic militants.
The group has been blamed for a
series of bomb attacks in the Philippines in recent years, as well
as high-profile kidnappings of foreigners and missionaries.
Since the military operation
began last September the group’s two top leaders have been killed
and the remaining members, said to number around 400, have
splintered into smaller units trying to evade government forces.
The military spokesman, Lt. Col.
Bartolome Bacarro, said the Abu Sayyaf also suffered an undetermined
number of casualties.
He said troops from the 35th
Infantry Battalion were on patrol when it chanced upon the Abu
Sayyaf band numbering around 100 men.
The names of the dead soldiers
were withheld pending notification of their families.
Bacarro said the Abu Sayyaf group
was led by Radulan Sahiron, alias “Kumander Putol” and Abu Pula,
alias “Dr. Abu.”
The US is offering a reward of
$200,000 for Sahiron and $100,000 for Pula.
Threats of renewed attacks from
the Abu Sayyaf prompted the Philippine National Police to put its
forces in Mindanao on high alert.
The Antiterrorism Task Force has
placed Central Mindanao on terror threat warning and the Autonomous
Region for Muslim Mindanao on alert Level 3.
Alert Level 3 indicates that a
strong possibility of terrorist attack “within a short period of
time.”
Aside from the Abu Sayyaf, the
communist New People’s Army might also carry out its own attacks.
The task force said terror
threats in Metro Manila for April remains moderate (alert Level 2),
but recommends alert Level 3 security implementation.
While the task force has reduced
the alert level in the Caraga for the month, it still recommended
that moderate public safety measures should remain in effect.
The PNP added that alert level
threat in the areas of Luzon and Visayas remain low for April.
Police regional commanders in
Luzon and the Visayas have orders to guard all government facilities
and vital installation such as communication and power lines.
--Anthony Vargas and AFP
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