Rangers capture Abu camp in Sulu

Army Scout Rangers captured yesterday an abandoned Abu Sayyaf camp in the hinterland of Patikul town in Sulu and recovered live ammunition, improvised land mines and medical supplies including bloodstained bandages.

Meanwhile, three suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits and a soldier were reported killed yesterday in a gunbattle in Sumisip town on nearby Basilan island.

The military believed that the camp, located within a durian and mangosteen orchard in Sitio Bungkaong, Barangay Danag in Patikul, was being used by an Abu Sayyaf band led by Radulan Sahiron.

Officials of the military’s Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City said the bloodstained bandages indicated that some of the Abu Sayyaf bandits sustained wounds during recent clashes with government troops.

Southcom spokesman Lt. Col. Danilo Lucero said the Islamist guerrillas, who have been linked to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, apparently abandoned the camp jsut a few hours before the troops arrived.

Reports from the field said the camp has three large huts, some 50 bunkers and could accommodate about 300 people. It also has a toilet for women.

Lucero said newly appointed Southcom chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya has ordered sustained offensives in line with Operation Endgame to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from pursuing terrorist activities.

Sketchy reports on the Basilan clash showed that troops from the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion (IB) were on patrol when they encountered an undetermined number of heavily armed Abu Sayyaf bandits led by Commander Amir Mingkong, a former leader of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The early morning shootout lasted 30 minutes, the military said.

Operation Endgame was launched on the heels of a six-month military training exercise between American and Filipino soldiers in Basilan and Zamboanga meant to improve the local soldiers’ capability to fight terrorism.

In another development, two MILF rebels were slain in skirmishes with soldiers on Tuesday in Maguindanao province.

Abaya said troopers of the Army’s 37th IB were on combat patrol when they chanced upon MILF gunmen in Barangay Dapiawan, Datu Piang town.

The guerrillas led by MILF Commander Ombra Katto withdrew after a 20-minute firefight, but the troops pursued them, triggering a running gunbattle that lasted for a few hours.

A helicopter gunship provided support for the ground troops in the hot pursuit operations.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu confirmed that Katto was one of their regular field commanders.

He also charged that the military was using the campaign against the MILF to boost their request for a bigger budget next year.