JI leader killed in Sulu? Military checking

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Government troops are confirming reports that one of the two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia died from wounds he suffered in a recent encounter with soldiers pursuing the Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu, the military said yesterday.

Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, 3rd Marine Brigade commander leading the pursuit operations against the bandits, said they have been receiving reports from villagers that Umar Patek was fatally wounded in the pre-dawn attack by government troops in Luba Hill, Barangay Tugas in Patikul last Sept. 4.

Sabban said even the soldiers who were wounded during the encounter claimed that Patek was among those initially wounded.

"We have a lot of reports both from the civilian villagers and we need to confirm it. We are carefully verifying all this information and hoping to retrieve the body," Sabban said.

Conflicting reports earlier said Dulmatin, a skilled electronics technician and bomb maker of the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, was among those wounded with Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani during the encounter.

There were also reports that Abu Sayyaf commander Radullan Sahiron was also wounded.

The materials and evidence gathered by the troops at the site, however, indicated Patek was mortally hit.

"Our soldiers who engaged them also gave the account they hit what they believed to be the main body of the terrorist group. We have a high level of confidence in their reports," Sabban said.

Sabban the materials gathered from the encounter site appeared the owner is Indonesian.

A military source disclosed that the materials recovered included CDs containing information written in Bahasa with accounts of expenditures of the previous operations and training of the group.

The source disclosed that Patek could be the owner of the recovered items since he is also known as the financial conduit of the JI in the southern Philippines.

Sabban confirmed the items recovered at the encounter site were personal belongings "of an Indonesian," but refused to identify who among the two JI militants owned them.

"He (the owner of the materials) must be one of the (JI) leaders," Sabban said.

Sabban revealed the account of one of the wounded soldiers who claimed to have hit one of the Indonesian militants during the attack.

"The wounded Marine (said) one of those he shot and hit in the close quarter combat was very similar to the poster of Umar Patek," Sabban said.

The Abu Sayyaf has been providing sanctuary to the JI terrorists in Jolo’s dense jungles where they are being pursued by over 5,000 troops.

Casualties on both sides have been mounting since the manhunt operations in Sulu began early August under "Oplan Ultimatum."

But there are persistent reports that Janjalani and the two JI militants managed to slip through the military dragnet and escaped to Basilan.

The military dismissed the reports, saying the bandits have resorted to disinformation in an effort to evade the intense pursuit operations by government troops.

Sabban said the bandits divided into small groups in an effort to elude pursuing government troops.

He said the bandits were forced to split because their ranks are being decimated.

He said the bandits are also having a hard time moving around Patikul because they are being denied support by villagers.

"Medyo mahirap lang silang hanapin ngayon dahil mas maliliit na grupo na ang hinahabol ng mga tropa, pero all indications show that they are still in Sulu," Sabban said.

To prevent their escape from the island, the Navy deployed nine patrol gunships with radar equipment capable of detecting any sea craft within 70 nautical miles.

Elsewhere, the military had been placed under high alert on the possibility that the Abu Sayyaf might launch attacks to divert the offensives in Sulu.

"The threats are there that the terrorists would try to spill their attack in this city (Zamboanga) to divert the military attention according to the Western Mindanao Command," Task Force Zamboanga commander Col. Antonio Mark Supnet said.

The US government, for its part, is keeping a watchful eye on the offensives since it has put up huge rewards for the capture of Janjalani, Patek and Dulmatin.

Through its Rewards for Justice Program, the US government offered millions of dollars for the capture of the three terror leaders, categorized by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as "high value" targets.

The US government is helping out in the manhunt for the three in Sulu in terms of assistance and advice through its technical teams.

Col. James Linder, commander of American forces in the southern Philippines, said the AFP is "making great progress every day and I would not be surprised if those lawless elements that you mentioned are brought to justice very soon."

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon last week praised US military intelligence support, saying it has given the troops a crucial edge in pursuing militants through Jolo’s hostile jungles.

The US forces, who have been stationed in Sulu as part of counterterrorism and humanitarian assistance, are not involved in actual combat operations, Esperon stressed. - With James Mananghaya, AP