Sayyaf still a major threat

BASILAN – Despite repeated public pronouncement by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the military’s western Mindanao Command that the Abu Sayyaf is now on the run in Basilan, radical militants continue their reign of terror in the restive province.

Just last week, Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed 6 army soldiers and wounded 4 others in an ambush Sumisip, hometown of ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman. Officials said the soldiers were pursuing a band of militants when gunmen - mostly supporters and relatives of Abu Sayyaf fighters – ambushed them in Upper Cabengbeng village. “As they edged towards the circumferential road, operating troops were met with heavy fire by lawless elements believed to be relatives and sympathizers of the Abu Sayyaf bandits,” said Colonel Juvymax Uy, commander of the anti-terror Joint Task Force Basilan.

He said two of the Abu Sayyaf leaders involved in the fighting have been identified as Siar Alhamsirol and Parong Tedi who managed to escape the military operation.

The heavy fighting, according to Uy, lasted over 4 hours and needed air force bombers to support ground troops battling the militants. The clashes were so intense that the army had to deploy the 64th and 68th Infantry Battalions to augment members of the 18th Battalion fighting the Abu Sayyaf.

The Western Mindanao Command said the bodies of the slain soldiers were handed over to their grieving families. And the wounded soldiers were brought to a military hospital in Zamboanga where they have been recuperating.

“We are sad to report the death of six of your soldiers during the encounter yesterday in Basilan,” said Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez, Jr., chief of the Western Mindanao Command.

He said military operations against the Abu Sayyaf and their support groups are continuing in Basilan, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City. “As we mourn, combat operations against the bandits will be intensified with our intelligence operations and sustained campaign to defeat the remaining terrorists. Rest assured that this will not stop us from crushing the enemies of the state,” Galvez said.

Both Galvez and Hataman have previously trumpeted victory against the Abu Sayyaf and the surrender of many of its fighters in Sumisip and other parts of Basilan and claiming the government is winning the war against terrorism in the province. (Mindanao Examiner)