The attack came a day before the military revealed to the media the real identity of Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya who he is being hunted for a string of criminal activities in Mindanao, including kindapping for ransom.
Armed Forces’ spokesman Gen. Edilberto Adan said Sabaya’s real name is Aldam Tilao. He presented a photograph of Sabaya to the press that showed the Abu Sayyaf leader without his usual dark sunglasses.
"Very few know Abu Sabaya’s face. He hides in anonymity but now he has no more to hide," Adan said. "We can now hunt for this man whose capture can very well help us attain peace."
The government is offering P5 million to anyone who could provide any information that would lead to Sabaya’s arrest.
Adan said fliers containing Sabaya’s photograph will be posted all over Basilan where his group is holding 19 hostages, including two Americans, captive.
"The public needs to know who this criminal, rapist, drug addict, terrorist, and kidnapper really is. This is his real photo and Sabaya was able to elude arrest in the past because very few know his face," he said.
Reports from Basilan revealed that some 50 heavily armed Abu Sayyaf rebels reportedly backed up by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) separatists attacked the villages of Pamatsakan and Baiwas on Sunday morning.
Col. Hermogenes Esperon, commander of the Army’s 103rd Brigade, said the bandits were led by a certain Querino Manalul Lambungan and one Amir Mingkong. "They sprayed with bullets a cluster of houses in Pamatsakan at about 5 a.m.," he said.
Two children and two women were among those killed in the first town the bandits attacked.
Shortly after the first attack, the Abu Sayyaf entered the adjacent village of Baiwas and strafed the houses of two former members who had surrendered to the Army, Esperon revealed.
Ex-Abu Sayyaf member Husirin Bailul was killed, while his brother, Dusiyan Hailul, was wounded.
Before withdrawing, the bandits torched at least seven houses in the village and looted food stuff and clothes from villagers.
Esperon said the attack was the second in a week. — Roel Pareño, Christina Mendez