Abu leader captured

January 16, 2008  --  Got something to say?
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ZAMBOANGA CITY A combined military and police team arrested an Abu Sayyaf bandit leader, with a P2- million reward for his capture, and another bandit in Zamboanga del Sur, a military official here said.

Maj. Eugenio Batara Jr. Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) information officer, said the two were arrested on Jan. 3 one after another in Margosatubig town.

Batara identified the two as bandit leader Tuatin Anahalul alias Abu Basilan and Roy Sulaiman. Batara said Anahalul was arrested following a raid at about 3:30 p.m. in his hideout in purok Gumamela, Igat Island, Margosatubig.

The government earlier offered a P2-million reward for Anahaluls arrest. The raiding team confiscated from him a .45-caliber pistol, a Belgian-made Fabrique National rifle and a US-made .30-caliber M-1 Garand rifle.

Batara said that Anahalul was involved in the kidnapping of 20 people, including three Americans, in 2001 from the Dos Palmas resort off Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

Aside from Dos Palmas, Anahalul was also involved in the siege of a hospital and a church in the same year in Lamitan City, Basilan province, according to Batara.

Civilians who sighted and recognized the ASG [Abu Sayyaf Group] terrorist were the key in the successful raid. The subject [Anahalul] had been monitored for sometime and the Wesmincom troops were able to plan and successfully conduct the raid where he was not able to resist arrest as he was caught by surprise,” he said.

Batara said that Sulaiman was arrested in a follow-up operation launched in sitio Gabay, barangay Poblacion, Margosatubig.

He said Sulaiman is one of the followers of the late Abu Sayyaf leader Hamsiraji Sali and was involved in the Ipil attack, Lamitan siege and kidnapping of 54 people including school pupils, teachers and Claretian priest Fr. Roel Gallardo in 2000. Gallardo was killed by the kidnappers.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said the Abu Sayyaf may be destroyed on or before 2010, the same time line given by the military establishment in crippling the communist New Peoples Army, due to the soldiers renewed motivation.

We are actually gaining ground (in the fight against the Abu Sayyaf) if we base it on our accomplishment last year,” said Allaga. His command has the operational control of all military units operating in the Western Mindanao region, including Sulu and Basilan provinces which are the known bailiwicks of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf.

We are very optimistic that we are well on the road towards accomplishing our marching orders against internal security threats, particularly the Abu Sayyaf. You can see the figures for 2007,” said Allaga.

The Marine general was referring to the number of Abu Sayyaf men neutralized by the military last year which saw the killing, arrest, apprehension and surrender of at least 100 Abu Sayyaf men.
Allaga did not give a categorical estimate on the present number of persons currently affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf although the military said in its accomplishment report that there are 379 Abu Sayyaf men remaining.

The military intensified its drive against the Abu Sayyaf in July last year when the terrorists, in tandem with secessionist forces, killed 14 Marine soldiers, beheading and mutilating 10 of them, in an ambush in Al Barkah town in Basilan.


Posted by News Team | Filed Under Philippine News 

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