Abu Sayyaf leader, 4 followers killed

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A top Abu Sayyaf leader, linked to the separate kidnappings of Basilan priest Fr. Cirilo Nacorda and a Spanish missionary, and four of his followers were killed in a clash in a remote village in Basilan yesterday, the military said.

Elements of the Army’s 18th Infantry Battalion were tracking down Abu Sayyaf rebels who attacked a detachment in Lower Sinangkapan, Tuburan town when they chanced upon the group of Montong Sali.

Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, spokesman of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command, said Sali carried a P600,000 prize on his head.

He said Sali was wanted for the abductions of Fr. Bernardo Blanco, a Spanish priest, as well as for the 1994 kidnapping of Nacorda, who was then the parish priest of Matarling, Lantawan.

Col. Bonifacio Ramos, the military’s Basilan commander, said pursuing troops recovered the body of Sali, along with his firearms — an M-16 rifle and a caliber .45 pistol.

Sali’s elder brother Barahama was killed months after Nacorda was rescued. — Roel Pareño