MILF rebels sabotaging Burnhams’ rescue —AFP

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Even with the boost provided by visiting US commandos, the military remains wary of threats to the rescue of the Abu Sayyaf hostages, including sabotage operations by guerrillas of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Armed Forces of the Phi-lippines (AFP) Southern Command spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Servando said MILF fighters have begun to step up offensives in Basilan, recently engaging government troops and militia forces in a remote village of the island.

Fresh fighting erupted Saturday when patrolling government militiamen, backed by troops from the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion, clashed with 20 fully armed MILF fighters in Barangay Macalang in Tipo-Tipo town.

Servando said the MILF suffered casualties in the 30-minute firefight and later retreated. There were no casualties on the government side.

The MILF claims to have camps in Tipo-Tipo, Tuburan and Sumisip, but the military has refused to recognize them.

Government troops and US Special Forces are currently conducting patrols on Basilan island under the Balikatan 02-1 joint exercises. Filipino soldiers are scouring the jungles in an attempt to rescue American hostages Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap.

"These clashes are hampering our rescue operations," Servando said. "While we recognize that there are ongoing peace talks with the MILF, I hope their leaders will do something to prevent the aggressive posture of their followers."

He said government forces will continue with efforts to rescue the hostages, and face any threat to the operations.

"We will not allow any group to ruin our rescue efforts," Servando said.

More sabotage

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes accused the MILF yesterday of sabotaging vital government projects in Mindanao and using a ceasefire agreement as a shield from pursuing soldiers.

Reyes said the government will not hesitate in pursuing any group that stages attacks against civilians and government installations.

"Whether or not they are MILF, if they are lawless elements, we will go after them," he said. "The ceasefire is not a protection for people violating the law."

The defense chief pointed out that the MILF leadership has always disowned atrocities committed by its fighters.

Reyes noted that the recent clashes in Shariff Aguak and Mamamsapano towns in Maguindanao were the result of government operations against separatist rebels who torched a bulldozer of the National Irrigation Administration last week.

He said that when pursued by soldiers, the perpetrators immediately sought refuge in a known MILF sanctuary in the area. MILF leaders later accused the military of violating a ceasefire.

"MILF leaders always respond that perpetrators are fighters of a lost command, over which they have no control," Reyes said. "Lost command or not, we will run after them. The ceasefire will not protect them."

‘Just around the corner’

With its operations being bolstered by high-tech US surveillance equipment and weaponry, the Philippine military said yesterday the rescue of three Abu Sayyaf hostages can come at any moment.

"It’s just around the corner. Hopefully we can get the hostages at the soonest possible time," Servando said.

The military said it believes the Abu Sayyaf kidnappers and their hostages are still in Basilan and have not slipped out of the island.

US military officials shared the same level of confidence expressed by their Filipino counterparts.

"We are hoping to see the Burnhams and Yap freed from the hands of the terrorists at the soonest possible time," said Task Force 501 spokesperson US Maj. Cynthia Teramae. "We are hoping the high-tech equipment we brought to Basilan will help in the rescue efforts."

The military has been using a P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft to determine the exact location of the Abu Sayyaf fighters and their hostages. US forces have also installed satellite equipment similar to those used in the Afghanistan campaign.

"While we cannot directly participate in the rescue operation, our equipment and aircraft are available to the military," Teramae said.

Filipino soldiers have benefited from night vision goggles and high-powered firearms. For special operations, the US has made available the Chinook and Pave Hawk helicopters.

Sources earlier said that once rescued, the hostages will be flown from Basilan to Manila using the Pave Hawk choppers.

New Chinook arrives

The US military has flown in another MH-47E Chinook to replace a similar helicopter that crashed last month in the waters off Negros Oriental.

Teramae said the chopper was flown to Mactan, Cebu from Taegu, South Korea, where the Echo Company of the 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment (SOAR) is based.

The new helicopter brings to three the number of Chinooks assigned to airlift US forces and equipment for the war drills in Zamboanga and Basilan.

This developed as the US Pacific Command considered the possibility of co-locating its helicopter base in Mactan and at the Edwin Andrews Airbase in Zamboanga City "to cut down the amount of flying time."

"It will help facilitate troop movement," Teramae said.

Last Feb. 22, a Chinook flying in tandem with a similar helicopter went down in flames, killing all 10 US servicemen aboard. Only three bodies were recovered.

Mystery surrounded the cause of the crash of the Chinook, which the US is investigating. Some local fishermen said they heard an explosion and others said they saw the helicopter go down in flames.

An eight-man team has completed its probe in Dumaguete and has moved to Mactan to continue interviews and review of flight data logs.

The group, led by Maj. Robert Cumbie, said they completed analyzing recovered debris before they were sent to Okinawa, Japan.

Teramae said the US has not abandoned the search and recovery of the remaining bodies and helicopter parts.

"Air assets, including helicopters and surveillance aircraft, continue to scan the area in support of search and recovery operations," she said. – With Paolo Romero