Troops overrun 4 Sayyaf camps

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Intensifying the search for top Abu Sayyaf leaders, government troops overran yesterday four terrorist camps deep in the jungles of Sulu.

No casualties were reported in the raid.

The United States government has offered a $5-million reward for any information leading to the capture of the terrorist leaders.

Troops found only abandoned weapons and military uniforms in the four camps near the towns of Patikul and Talipao but no sign of the Abu Sayyaf.

President Arroyo said yesterday the capture of the four camps would lead straight to the main lair of Abu Sayyaf leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Isnilon Hapilon.

"Our forces will relentlessly hunt down these criminals until they are all accounted for, but even if we diminished the ranks of the Abu Sayyaf, I have ordered the AFP to scour the jungles of Sulu for the four remaining Abu Sayyaf leaders" she told graduating students of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy in San Narciso, Zambales.

"And I believe we have overrun four camps on the way to the main camp. So that the offensive ... in that place is still going on. This is the lair of Hapilon and I understand, Khadaffy Janjalani is there with him. The fighting is still going on and would probably go on for two more days."

Lt. Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, spokesman for the Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom), said the camps were captured hours after about 150 Abu Sayyaf terrorists killed Army 1Lt. Jesse James Apura, commander of the 9th Scout Ranger company, during a clash between the two forces in Patikul Thursday.

"The troops took control of the four camps that have been abandoned by the Abu Sayyaf," he said.

Covarrubias said the troops who seized the camps also found alive Cpl. Arnel Matadling, who was earlier reported as missing in action after Thursday’s firefight with the Abu Sayyaf.

Lt. Col. Danilo Servando, chief of the Armed Forces Public Information Office, said one of the four camps in Barangay Tanum in Patikul has five bunkers and a mess hall that can accommodate more than 50 people.

"The second camp is located at Hill 269 in Barangay Kabuntulan, the third at vicinity Luba Hill at Barangay Darayan, and the fourth called Camp Baylon is at Sitio Kantatang, also in Barangay Darayan," he said.

Servando said at least four battalions have been deployed in Patikul and nearby areas to track down Janjalani and Radulan Sahiron who are believed to have led the terrorist band that clashed with Apura and his men.

"As of today, Operation Daylight is in progress," he said. "We have employed four battalions. The (troops) are combing the area right now in pursuit of the bandit group we have encountered yesterday."

Servando said the soldiers discovered the four camps on high ground while scouring Patikul and that the Abu Sayyaf fled upon seeing the arriving troops.

"The troops have recovered all these camps without any firefight," he said. "The camps were abandoned by the fleeing Abu Sayyaf groups when the troops reached these areas."

In Basilan, troops are hunting down Abu Sayyaf leaders Hapilon and Hamsiraji Salih near Lantawan town following reports that they were hiding in the hinterlands.

Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina, Southcom chief, said military operations against Abu Sayyaf leaders in Basilan and Sulu are being conducted simultaneously to prevent their forces from linking up.

"Even before the rescue of the hostages, our operation against the other leaders continued relentlessly," he said. "We are on the advantage they have no hostages."

Intelligence sources said Salih has been going to and fro the towns of Sumisip and Tuburan to try to elude pursuing government troops.

Salih is reportedly seeking refuge in an area in Tuburan that is said to be under the control of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

However, operations by the Army’s 18th Infantry Battalion have prevented Salih’s forces from linking up with the MILF rebels. — Paolo Romero, Marichu Villanueva, AFP