AFP: 6,000 troops now pursuing Sayyaf chief, JI bombers

Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon disclosed on Monday that 6,000 government troops have been deployed to intensify the ongoing pursuit operations against the band of Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani and two Jemaah Islamiyah bomb experts in the jungles of Sulu.

Esperon, who was the guest speaker at the "Night of the Generals" hosted by the Manila Overseas Press Club, chaired by STAR chairman and publisher Max V. Soliven, at the Hotel InterContinental in Makati City, said more Army troops and Marines have joined the offensive that started on Aug. 1 against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) led by Janjalani and Indonesian JI members Dulmatin (who uses only one name) and Umar Patek.

The rebels are holding out near the boundary of Patikul and Parang towns.

"When we started ‘Oplan Ultimatum’ on Aug. 1, there were three Marines and two Army battalions that were operating there. When the operations started, we injected six Scout Ranger companies, one Special Forces battalion, two Marine battalions and a Force Reconnaissance Company, an elite unit under the Marines," Esperon said.

He said the deployment of thousands of troops in Sulu indicates that top leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked terrorists belonging to the Abu Sayyaf and JI are holed up there.

Esperon refused to comment on the exact location of Janjalani’s group following reports that the terrorists have slipped out of Sulu and are now in Basilan.

"I do not want to tell you that they are still there. Let our action speak for itself," Esperon answered when he was asked by STAR defense reporter Jaime Laude, who was one of the panelists in the MOPC forum.

The AFP chief said the Abu Sayyaf bandits have apparently been neutralized following reports that Janjalani and Patek have been wounded after the Sept. 4 encounter with a team of Marines in Mt. Sinumaan in Barangay Tugas, Patikul. The report on Janjalani and Patek had not yet been verified.

Eight Marines have been killed while scores were wounded on the government side and at least 30 Abu Sayyaf members have allegedly been killed since the military offensive started last month.

"The troops, while they know they could suffer the ultimate sacrifice, they are too willing to go on with the operations and we will go on until we could get some things out of this," Esperon told the Monday night forum attended by veteran journalists led by Soliven, the diplomatic corps, foreign defense attachés, police and military officials and entrepreneurs.

Esperon said that the military’s efforts against the Abu Sayyaf had reduced its forces from 1,270 guerrillas in 1987 to only 500 this year.

He cited the technical assistance provided by the United States that has resulted in "intelligence-driven operations" that made hunting the enemy easier.

"We always believe that operations that are intelligence-driven are the more effective ones. The sources of intelligence information are our local operatives and we get contributions from allies. To quantify as to how much it contributes to actual operations will be hard to do. Without intelligence it will be very hard to operate especially when the terrain could be difficult and the weather could be unkind. Any kind of intelligence will be considered important," he said.

Esperon said various local groups are helping in the search for Janjalani and other top Abu Sayyaf after the US government offered reward money for the capture of the bandits.

The group has been linked to the kidnapping of Americans and other foreign tourists in the resort island of Sipadan in Malaysia and at a posh resort in Palawan and the bombing of the SuperFerry 14. Indonesians Dulmatin and Patek are suspected to be responsible for the Oct. 12, 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia that killed more than 200 people.

Col. James Linder, commander of the US Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, said the training of Filipino troops on counter-terrorist tactics is part of the security assistance program under the Kapit-Bisig joint military exercises.

"The training is really a great opportunity because it allows American forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to work side by side together and learn from each other," Linder said.

Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom), said a group from the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion and US Special Forces units are conducting the joint training in Lamitan in Basilan, which will last until the end of the month. Another military exercise was conducted earlier in Tawi-Tawi.

Batara said the training includes small-unit tactical operations, advance marksmanship and combat training.

Wesmincom chief Maj. Gen. Eugenio Cedo said the military operations against the Abu Sayyaf and JI will continue even during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which will start on Sept. 23 when Muslims hold the month-long fasting.

"The military will respect the peaceful celebration of Ramadan by our peace-loving Muslim brothers and sisters, but will continue to neutralize the ASG and JI members to ensure that future Ramadan celebrations will be peaceful," Cedo added. — With Roel Pareño