Sayyaf leader still hiding in Sultan Kudarat — military

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Abu Sayyaf leader Khadafi Janjalani, who remains in the most wanted list of terrorists by the US government, is still holding out in the mountains of Sultan Kudarat, a senior military official said yesterday.

Brig. Gen. Alexander Yano, 601st Army Brigade commander, said Janjalani and 70 of his armed men are still hiding in the hinterlands near Palimbang town.

"He is still hiding and has not slipped out of Palimbang since he arrived with his followers. Janjalani and his group are evading military combat," Yano said.

He said Janjalani has been constantly moving using local contacts as guides to escape military operations.

Yano refused to speculate if some guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are giving sanctuary to Janjalani and his men, who reportedly arrived in the area sometime in July.

Intelligence reports disclosed Janjalani’s group is reportedly trying to link up with Indonesian fugitive Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi who is also reportedly hiding in nearby Maguindanao.

The military, however, said it has no information that Al-Ghozi is trying to get into Sultan Kudarat.

Al-Ghozi, who reportedly escaped a military dragnet around an MILF’s Camp Salman Alfarise training site in Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte, allegedly fled tp Kabuntalan, Maguindanao.

Intelligence reports said Al-Ghozi wants to break out from the camp to avoid compromising the MILF which has forged a ceasefire agreement with the government to pave the way for a formal peace negotiation in Kuala Lumpur.

Reports also disclosed Al-Ghozi might be seeking the help of the Abu Sayyaf to slip out of the country.

The US has put a $5-million reward for the capture of top Abu Sayyaf leaders. The bandit group has been linked by the US and other Western intelligence agencies to the al-Qaeda network of international fugitive Osama bin Laden.

The Abu Sayyaf has been constantly on the run evading government troops in Basilan, Sulu, Zamboanga peninsula, and now in Sultan Kudarat.

US troops are scheduled to begin a joint operation in Sulu and other parts of Mindanao later this year to help the military track down the remaining members of the Abu Sayyaf.