2 cops killed in clash with suspected JIs

ZAMBOANGA CITY – At least two police commandos were killed in a 30-minute gunbattle with a suspected Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist band in a remote barangay in North Cotabato.

Their names were not immediately known.

SOCSARGEN regional police chief German Doria said about 10 Special Action Force (SAF) troops were fired upon as they tried to serve an arrest warrant on Adulhir Bin Hir, who uses the alias Marwan, and a certain Omar in a barangay in Pikit town, North Cotabato at around 1 a.m. Thursday.

The M-16 rifles and night-vision goggles of the two commandos were taken by Hir, who fled with an undetermined number of companions, he added.

Col. Julieto Ando, Central Mindanao military spokesman, said the SAF troops were approaching the hideout of the suspected JI terrorists when they were fired upon with automatic weapons.

It remained uncertain as to how many of the terrorists were wounded in the firefight, he added.

There were reports that the police commandos had encountered separatist guerrillas from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Ando said.

The military said it is investigating the incident to determine if there was a mistaken encounter between the SAF troops and the MILF.

Troops continue to hunt down two JI terrorist leaders Dulmatin and Umar Patek who have been hiding in the jungles of Sulu with Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani.

Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, 3rd Marine Brigade commander, said they have also breached the outer layer of the mobile defense perimeter of the Abu Sayyaf and the JI in Patikul, a known sanctuary of Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf commander, the one-armed Radullan Sahiron.

The Abu Sayyaf and JI were forced to seek another sanctuary after the Moro National Liberation Front drove them out of the territory in Indanan town under its control, he added.

Meanwhile, Sahiron has been exerting efforts to give a decent burial to his son, who was slain and buried in a mountain site after a clash with government troops last year.

Intelligence sources said Ismin Sahiron is buried in Mt. Tumatangis in Indanan along with other Abu Sayyaf terrorists who were killed in an encounter with Army troops in October.

"Now Sahiron wanted to exhume the body from Mt. Tumatangis in Indanan and transfer (it) to Patikul in Sulu," said the veteran intelligence officer, privy to the monitoring activities on the movement of the Abu Sayyaf.

The elder Sahiron has been staying in Patikul, Sulu since troops intensified operations against him and other Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

The source told The STAR that the elder Sahiron has been giving refuge to Patek and Dulmatin, who were behind the terrorist bombings in Bali, Indonesia in October 2002.

On the other hand, Janjalani is reportedly being given protection by some MNLF members.

Early this month, the military launched a major offensive against the JI and their allies from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf on Jolo island. — Roel Pareño, Cecille Suerte Felipe, AP