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By Francis Earl A. Cueto, Reporter
THE US State Department announced
a P2.5-million ($50,000) bounty for Abdul Basit Usman, believed to
have masterminded the recent series of bomb attacks in Mindanao.
The US agency described Usman as
a known terrorist with links to Jemaah Islamiah who was also behind
bombings in Mindanao in October that left 8 civilians dead and 30
others wounded.
Usman is being implicated in a
string of bomb attacks in Mindanao earlier this month that killed 7
and wounded 37 others.
The military has placed the whole
of Mindanao under “extreme critical alert,” the highest level in
a four-stage terror warning system, following the blasts in the
cities of General Santos, Kidapawan and Cotabato.
President Arroyo had identified
Usman as the mastermind in the bombings at the height of the Asean
Summit in Cebu.
The military chief, General
Hermogenes Esperon, said Basit is one of the leaders of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Esperon said the blasts were
meant to ease pressure on the terrorists who are being pursued by
government troops in Sulu.
“It is time to bring this
despicable terrorist to justice. Anyone with information on Abdul
Basit Usman, or any other terrorist, is encouraged to contact the
Antiterrorist Task Force by calling 117, (02) 528-9832, (02)
928-5778, or contact the US Embassy in Manila at (02)
526-9832/9833/9834 or send a text message to 0918-948-6412,” the
embassy said in a statement sent to the media.
Esperon said assistance from the
United States will be crucial to the Philippines’ fight against
Muslim extremists linked to the al-Qaeda.
American troops have been
providing training and civil works assistance to Filipino troops
hunting the Abu Sayyaf extremists in Jolo, but are barred by law
from engaging in actual combat.
Key members of the Abu Sayyaf
have been killed by soldiers in recent months, including top leaders
Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Solaiman, who both earlier had $5-million
bounties placed on their heads by the United States.
US surveillance aircraft had been
seen flying over Jolo, where the Abu Sayyaf and two Indonesians from
the Jemaah Islamiah are hiding.
“Terrorism is something that we
have to address not only as a single nation but as a global
community,” Esperon said.
--With AFP
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