6 dead, 10 hurt in Sulu clashes

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Four Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed in a gun battle with government forces in Indanan, Sulu, the military said yesterday.

The assault on a suspected Abu Sayyaf hideout in Barangay Marang also left two soldiers dead and 10 other troopers wounded, according to the Army’s 104th Brigade commander Col. Antonio Mark Supnet.

He said the clash occurred near a camp of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Commander Khaid Ajibun.

Supnet said several rogue MNLF guerrillas helped the Abu Sayyaf in the area, which effectively neutralized the military offensive.

Supnet said the 104th Brigade, with forces from the Army’s 35th and 33rd Infantry Battalions under Task Force Comet, launched the operation after confirming intelligence reports of the presence of Abu Sayyaf bandits near the MNLF camp.

Supnet said the latest military operation was done in close coordination with the MNLF commanders who had agreed to a joint operation "to erase doubts that they are coddling the Abu Sayyaf."

"However, at the last minute some of the commanders backed out but some continued to cooperate in the operation," Supnet claimed.

Supnet also cited intelligence reports that the Abu Sayyaf bandits have entered the MNLF area.

The clash occurred days after Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomb-makers Dulmatin and Umar Patek, who are being sheltered by the Abu Sayyaf, escaped a military raid on their base in Barangay Kanlimot, Talipao, last Monday.

Both Indonesians are allegedly involved in the deadly 2002 Bali bombings. They have been hiding with the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf in Jolo since late last year and have been the target of a massive military operation under Oplan Ultimatum.

In a raid Monday, government troops captured three Abu Sayyaf militants but missed the two JI militants who reportedly left the place with their Abu Sayyaf host an hour earlier.

The bandit group was led by Radulan Sahiron, a one-armed senior commander, and Abu Pula, also known as Dr. Abu, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) information chief Col. Bartolome Bacarro said.

The US government has put up a total of $11 million bounty for their capture.

The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for a series of bomb attacks in recent years, as well as high-profile kidnappings of foreigners and missionaries.

Since the military operation began last September the group’s two top leaders — chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani and Abu Solaiman — have been killed and the remaining members, said to number around 400, have splintered into smaller units trying to evade government forces. – with Jaime Laude, AP, AFP