JI militant among 6 killed in clash

An Indonesian member of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group and two Abu Sayyaf commanders were among six Muslim extremists killed in a high-speed shootout at sea after Navy commandos and Marines on speedboats pounced on their motorboats in waters off Tawi-Tawi on Saturday.

The terrorists were fleeing Sulu after breaking the naval blockade when the seaborne troops spotted them.

Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces public information chief, said the Abu Sayyaf commanders killed in the 30-minute sea chase were Abu Hubaida and Jundam Jumalul, alias Black Killer. 

Jumalul carries a $40,000 bounty on his head, he added.

Commander Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, Navy spokesman, said the other slain terrorists were Gufran, alias Abu Samur, an Indonesian who is reportedly a trusted man of Jemaah Islamiyah bomb expert Dulmatin; Ibrahim Hassan, alias Abu Muksin, an aide of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, and Gadar Abubakar, security escort of Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Solaiman.

The sixth terrorist killed remains unidentified, he added.

Janjalani and Dulmatin, along with Umar Patek, another JI bomber, are believed to be hiding with their men in the jungles of Sulu.

The Marines and Navy commandos recovered two M16 rifles, an M203 grenade launcher and huge amounts of ammunition on the boats of the terrorists, Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan said.

The seized firearms and speedboat will be presented to President Arroyo and Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. when they visit Sulu on Monday to inaugurate many of the military projects, including a temporary hospital and road, said Commodore Geronimo Defensor, Naval Forces Western Mindanao chief.

Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, 3rd Marine Brigade commander based in Sulu, whose men are hunting Dulmatin, said that captured Abu Sayyaf members identified the dead men, many of them aides to top Abu Sayyaf commanders.

The terrorist band was heading to Tawi-Tawi to look for a new hiding place for the Abu Sayyaf and JI leader, he added.

However, Sabban said all indications were that the top Abu Sayyaf and JI members, including Dulmatin and Patek, were still on Jolo or its surrounding islands, where the military has launched a massive operation to capture them.

It was not clear when Gufran had entered the Philippines or why he was here, he added.

An officer involved in the assault said the military had information that the terrorists were planning to carry out kidnappings in Tawi-Tawi to raise funds.

More than 7,000 Army troops and Marines have been hunting the Abu Sayyaf’s top leaders and allied JI since Aug. 1, but have failed so far to find them.

Janjalani was reportedly killed in a clash on Jolo in September and troops recovered what were believed to be his remains last month.

US forensic experts are helping verify the identity of the body using DNA tests.

Patek and Dulmatin were believed to be responsible for the Oct. 12, 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia, killing more than 200 people.

The JI is believed to be linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The Abu Sayyaf, which is blamed for the worst terror attacks in the Philippines, also has links to al-Qaeda.

Both JI and the Abu Sayyaf are on the US government’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

The military has mounted a massive operation in Jolo to capture Dulmatin and Patek and their Abu Sayyaf hosts.

US and Philippine authorities had offered a reward of $20,000 for Jumalul’s capture. – James Mananghaya, Roel Pareño, AP, AFP