JI’s Umar Patek wounded?

MANILA, Philippines – The military is validating reports that Indonesian terrorist bomber Umar Patek was among those wounded in the encounter with government troops that also supposedly killed his compatriot Dulmatin and Abu Sayyaf leader Wahab Opao in Tawi-Tawi last month.

A ranking intelligence officer said they are validating the claims of captured Abu Sayyaf rebel Alpha Moha, who also led troops to a shallow grave containing the supposed remains of Dulmatin.

Moha said Dulmatin was initially injured during the encounter with government troops in Bato-Bato, Panglima Sugala last Jan. 31. In that encounter, Opao, who carries a P2-million bounty for his capture, was killed.

The official said there were reports that during the encounter, Patek was with the group of Opao.

“We are now verifying reports from our civilian contacts that aside from Dulmatin, Patek was also critically wounded in the fighting,” the official said.

He said the reports indicated Patek was also wounded during the encounter with special forces in the area.

Moha had admitted participating in that encounter and recalled seeing Dulmatin seriously wounded and being dragged to safety by the Abu Sayyaf rebels retreating from the firefight.

Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag, Naval Forces Western Mindanao Combined (NFWMC) commander, said Marines and naval forces had been staging special operations in the area until the Jan. 31 encounter.

Marayag said a military task force has been created to go after the kidnappers of Fr. Reynaldo Roda.

“The initial target was Opao who was killed, but there (was this) other personality who was also wounded but managed to escape along with another suspect,” Marayag said.

He said a blocking force was formed to intercept the wounded Abu Sayyaf bandits.

He said the troops had no idea who the wounded were until Moha’s admission.

Moha, according to Marayag, had revealed a ranking terrorist leader died and was buried in the general area of Bato-Bato.

The information prompted the military to form a special operation force to comb the area of 10 hectares of dense jungle.

Marayag said the troops almost gave up after two days of search until a soldier accidentally stepped on a freshly dug hole in the ground located on a hillside.

“Our forces recovered the remains and some personal belongings with bloodstains that fitted the description revealed by the asset as Dulmatin,” Marayag said.

Marayag, however, stressed that results of the DNA test would confirm this.

‘90 percent sure’

Other military officials, on the other hand, expressed their success in neutralizing Dulmatin, considered one of Asia’s most wanted terrorists even as authorities are still awaiting the DNA results confirming his death.

A high-ranking military official said they are “90 percent sure” that they killed Dulmatin in that encounter.

“We are already more than 90 percent sure that the remains belonged to Dulmatin and what will complete the assumption is the complete result of the DNA testing,” another official said.

The same official added forensic experts from Australia are also helping the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in conducting the DNA test on the cadaver.

Dulmatin and Patek are Indonesian bomb-making experts tagged as top suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings, Asia’s worst terrorist attack.

Dulmatin and Patek fled the following year to southern Philippines.

The official said the Australian government has taken interest in Dulmatin since many Australian tourists died in the Bali attack.

He said the Australian authorities, although not officially coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), may have contacted independent sources to verify the remains.

“I am sure they are making their verification, because they are one of the countries interested in Dulmatin,” the official said.

Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga said there are strong indications the remains were Dulmatin’s, citing the admissions of Moha.

Moha has also admitted participating in the kidnapping attempt on Roda in Tawi-Tawi last Jan. 15. Roda was shot dead as he resisted the attempted abduction.

Moha said their group was led by Dulmatin who was initially introduced to him as Bin.

Aside from Moha, Allaga said other assets corroborated the information, which also matched the extent of injuries the body sustained.

“However, all of this remained as mere information pending the result of the DNA testing that is being conducted,” Allaga said.

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. earlier expressed the “high probability” that the DNA results would confirm the body was that of Dulmatin.

This early, the US government lauded the AFP in the operation that led to the supposed discovery of Dulmatin’s body.

The US government had offered a $10-million reward for the capture of Dulmatin, who allegedly trained Abu Sayyaf extremists in bomb-making and helped plot bomb attacks in the country.

US counterterrorism experts have covertly provided intelligence to the AFP for years in a bid to capture him.

Allaga said they cannot determine yet where the huge reward will go in the absence of complete confirmation that the decomposing cadaver was that of Dulmatin.

He said troops are already ensuring the informant’s safety.

Allaga downplayed the possibility that the cadaver would be snatched due to interest in the huge reward.

He said the body was buried in a public Muslim cemetery in the village of Sinunuc in Zamboanga City last Tuesday.

Allaga said they have already extracted tissue samples from the remains before burial.

“What is important was the remains were given decent burial in accordance with Muslim rites,” Allaga said.