November 15, 2000, ABS-CBN, Abu members down to 200 -- AFP,

November 15, 2000, ABS-CBN, 3:17 PM, Abu members down to 200 -- AFP,

QUEZON CITY, (ABS-CBN) - Since the military launched its operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu two months ago, between 70 to 200 hardcore members are left of the extremist group to fight government forces.

Prior to the rescue operations on September 16, the military estimated the terrorist group to be between 300 to 400 hardcore members with nearly a thousand followers.

"These are the only remaining hardcore members," said Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Generoso Senga in a news briefing Wednesday.

When the Abu Sayyaf still had its foreign hostages, its membership was even touted to have reached over 3,000 since most recruits were hoping to benefit from the ransom payment for the release of the captives.

In addition, the terror group was able to procure new and assorted firearms from the underground market using the ransom delivered by government negotiators.

Since the start of the hostage crisis in Sulu last April, military sources have estimated ransom payments made to the Abu Sayyaf to amount to P245 million.

Last month, Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes said the military is planning to reduce its presence in Sulu as the situation has stabilized with most of the hostages rescued.

At present, only two hostages remain in captivity: American Jeffrey Schilling and Filipino Rolando Ullah, the remnant of the 21 mostly foreign captives taken from Sipadan, Sabah, Malaysia last April 23.

Despite the reported dwindling in rebel power, the Abu Sayyaf remains tenacious in its offensives.

Four soldiers who were conducting a pursuit operation against the bandits were wounded in an ambush Tuesday. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Command reported that a group of armed men reportedly under Commander Rasid Andang, staged a surprise attack and collared troops of the Army's 4th Infantry Battalion in an offensive position in the boundary of Barangay Bandang and Samak in Talipao town.

The military disclosed that Commander Rasid Andang is the brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang alias Commander Robot. 

The wounded military men were brought to the Jolo Provincial Hospital for treatment but no casualties were reported on the enemy side. 

Brig. Gen. Senga said the military remains optimistic that it can wrap up its mission before the end of December.

Senga also said the military continues to believe that key Abu Sayyaf leaders are still in Sulu and have not breached the naval cordon around the island-province.

These include Commander Robot, Mujib Susukan, who is Robot's principal associate; and Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Sabaya figurehead and spokesperson, respectively of an Abu Sayyaf faction.

"We have not received verified reports to indicate that they were able to escape from Sulu," Senga said.

Statistics released by Camp Aguinaldo showed that 179 Abu Sayyaf rebels have been killed -- 118 are based on actual body while 61 others were monitored through signal intelligence.

Some 173 Abu Sayyaf gunmen were captured while 232 others have surrendered. Although there are no official estimates, scores are believed to have deserted.

The bandits also lost a total of 678 firearms, of which 531 were recovered by pursuing troops while 147 were destroyed in the course of firefights.

In a recent interview over a local radio station, Schilling blames the political crisis that has gripped the country in recent weeks for his and Ullah's stalled freedom.

"Since the Philippine government is having a problem, I hope the government will still be able to conduct negotiations," Schilling said over local radio station DXRZ. "I become less and less optimistic everyday."