US indicts 6 more Abus for murder

Six more Abu Sayyaf terrorists were indicted by a US federal grand jury for kidnapping and killing two Americans last year, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced yesterday.

The grand jury charged Abdul Azzam Ngaya, Toting Craft Hanno, Abdul Mukim Edris, Wahab Opao, Bakkal Hapilon and Alhamzer Manatad for conspiracy and hostage-taking resulting in death.

The new charges bring to 11 the number of Abu Sayyaf members charged in the US for the kidnapping of Jeffrey Schilling, Guillermo Sobero and missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham.

Ngaya, Hanno and Edris are already in police custody while the three others remain at large.

Last July 23, similar indictments were brought against Abu Sayyaf leaders Khaddafy Janjalani, Jainal Sali, Aldam Tilao, Isnilon Hapilon and Hamsiraji Sali.

The US DOJ statement did not explain why Tilao was still included in the indictment although US President George Bush had earlier confirmed that Tilao, alias Abu Sabaya, was killed in an offshore encounter with government troops in Zamboanga del Norte last June 21.

If captured and convicted in a US court, each of the Abu Sayyaf terrorists could face the death penalty.

The US government offered on May 29 bounties of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the five Abu Sayyaf leaders.

"The US government is committed to tracking down and prosecuting these terrorists responsible for the death of innocent Americans in the Philippines," said US Attorney General John Ashcroft in a statement released in Washington.

But Foreign Secretary Blas Ople, in a statement, said the US indictment would not affect the government’s determination to prosecute the Abu Sayyaf members under Philippine law.

"There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Philippines will subject the Abu Sayyaf terrorists to the full force of Philippine law," he said.

Ople said Manila will cooperate with the US in tracking down the terrorists but he stressed that only Philippine troops would be directly involved in any operation against the Abu Sayyaf.

"While the Philippines will cooperate with the US in trying to solve the Abu Sayyaf problem, it will be Philippine troops alone that will be directly involved in any operations against the Abu Sayyaf," Ople said.

He said Ashcroft’s statement was made in the context of the US desire to also prosecute the Abu Sayyaf and not as an indication of any unilateral military action.

"We have a clear idea and framework for our anti-terrorism cooperation with the US and unilateral action is not included in this framework," Ople stressed.

"We are committed to the global war on terror and in cooperating with the US in this war, and we both recognize that this war must be fought with full respect for both our nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and consistent with the rule of law," he added.

The indictment stems from the kidnapping of Schilling, of Oakland, California who walked into an Abu Sayyaf camp in Sulu with his Filipino wife sometime in October 2000. He escaped from his Abu Sayyaf captors on April 12, 2001.

The indictment also includes the kidnapping on May 27 of Sobero of California and the Burnhams of Wichita, Kansas.

The Abu Sayyaf beheaded Sobero on June 12 as an Independence Day "gift" to President Arroyo.

Martin Burnham and Filipino hostage Edibora Yap, on the other hand, were killed on June 7 during a gunbattle between government troops and the band of Abu Sabaya. Gracia was also shot in the leg but has since recovered. She is now in the US.

On July 26, the US DOJ opened the original indictment, which was sealed by the federal grand jury in February 2002, for fear that publicity about the indictment might further endanger the lives of the Burnhams and several Filipino hostages. - AP, AFP, Reuters, Aurea Calica