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April 12, 2004, Manila Bulletin, 19 Basilan jail escapees captured; 8 others killed,

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April 12, 2004, Manila Bulletin, 19 Basilan jail escapees captured; 8 others killed

8:00 AM,

 

ISABELA CITY, Basilan (AFP) — Nineteen of 53 prisoners who escaped from a Philippine jail, including several Muslim extremists, have been recaptured and eight others killed by pursuing forces, officials said yesterday.

 

Twenty of those who bolted Saturday from a provincial jail in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan island, are believed to be rebels from the Abu Sayaff Muslim extremist group, the officials said.

 

Among those who escaped were Abu Sayaff leaders Abu Black, Abu Burhan, and Abdulaziz Naya. They were awaiting trial for numerous abductions over the years.

 

"Probably it will take a long time before we get all of them," Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar said. "But we will not stop the hunt until all prisoners are recaptured."

 

"I have ordered security forces to shoot and kill the escapees if they fight back."

 

He said by the latest count, 19 had been recaptured and eight killed, five of whom were suspected Abu Sayaff members.

 

Twenty-six remain at large in Basilan, an island with large forest cover and a known lair for armed Muslim groups, including the Abu Sayaff.

 

Provincial officials said a pistol had been smuggled into the jail and was used by a prisoner to seize guns from guards to launch the breakout.

 

Akbar said initial investigations showed there was "laxity among the guards."

 

Washington and Manila have linked the Abu Sayyaf to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

 

Six suspected Abu Sayyaf members were arrested in Manila last month for allegedly planning a "Madridlevel" series of bombings targeting shopping malls and railways.

 

Intensified operations

 

Combined police and military elements intensified yesterday recovery operations on 31 inmates, including some alleged Abu Sayyaf members, who were among the 53 detainees who bolted the provincial jail in Basilan last Black Saturday, officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) based in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City said.

 

Military reports said eight inmates — five of them Abu Sayyaf members — were killed when police and military forces responded during the jailbreak situation at the Basilan Rehabilitation Center in Isabela City, Basilan at 11 a.m. last Black Saturday.

 

Lt. Col. Danilo Lucero, AFP public information officer, said at least 14 escapees have been recaptured, including five Abu members, as of 2 p.m. yesterday.

 

Military authorities identified the slain Abu Sayyaf members as Abu Ubalda, Mahmud Indama, Siddik Ahamad, and Hussin Indres.

 

Among the escapees who were killed during the firefight was a certain "Boy Flores," reportedly a murder suspect.

 

Citing reports from the Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, Lucero identified the recovered Abu members as Guillermo Sabtula Salcedo, 19; Abdul Rahman Ismale Diolagla, 28; Abtullah Apah Masuhod, 31; and Hadji Amir Ngaya, 35.

 

The other inmate who were recaptured by pursuing government teams included Nelson Ramba Hangad, 33; Buyong Buyong Gasap Isnijal, 30; and Sabtal-al Amsirani Hataman, 29.

 

Lucero said the escaped Abu Sayyaf suspects were involved in a series of murders and abductions in the island province since 2000.

 

They were among the bandits who hostaged 43 persons from the Tumahubong East Elementary School, Sinangkapan Elementary School, Sinangkapan National High School, and Claret High School last March 20, 2000.

 

Among their victims was Fr. Rhoel Gallardo, who was beheaded on May 3 the same year.

 

The fugitives were also among the bandits that kidnapped 33 people from Barangays Balobo and Bohe Baka in Lamitan, Basilan on Aug. 2, 2001. Ten of the victims were beheaded, eight were released, two escaped, and 12 were rescued by the military.

 

The most sensational incident involving the Abu Sayyaf fugitives was the Lamitan siege in June 2001.

 

At least 20 people, including 13 soldiers, were killed while 41 others were wounded after the group seized St. Peter's Church and the Dr. Jose Maria Torres Hospital.

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