September 26, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Military claims killing 103 Abu Sayyaf members, by Carlito Pablo, Donna Cueto and Carolyn Arguillas,

September 26, 2000, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Military claims killing 103 Abu Sayyaf members, by Carlito Pablo, Donna Cueto and Carolyn Arguillas,

A ''MAJOR firefight'' reportedly erupted yesterday noon between around 100 Abu Sayyaf gunmen led by Galib ''Commander Robot'' Andang and pursuing government troops, as military officials claimed that 103 suspected Abu members had been killed in the first 10 days of the hostage rescue operation in Sulu.

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said that two Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed and four others were captured during yesterday's engagement in Panamao town on Jolo Island. Mercado briefed reporters on the firefight at 4 p.m., adding that the gun battle was still going on, amid reports that Army troops had started to conduct house-to-house searches in Jolo for Abu Sayyaf members who might have taken refuge among the civilian population.

Earlier yesterday, President Estrada said he was ''definitely'' happy with the performance of the military, even as his top general admitted for the first time that the operation could go on for a month, and that authorities had been ''overly optimistic'' about completing it within a week.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes said the assault should take several more weeks or a month, and Mercado modified an earlier remark that it would be over in one more week. ''We have been overly optimistic in estimating how long it will take. But the problem is more difficult than we expected and I am accepting that responsibility. We ask you to be patient,'' Reyes said in Manila.

Mercado clarified that the operation was ''open-ended.'' He said the troops would focus on accomplishing their mission of rescuing 17 hostages and neutralizing the Abu Sayyaf, and not on any specific timetable. The President said he would not pressure the military by imposing any deadlines. ''I know they're really doing all they can,'' he said over radio, adding that the operation was hampered by ''unforeseen circumstances like heavy rain.''

No knockdowns

In Jolo, Task Force Trident commander Brig. Gen. Narciso Abaya waxed metaphorical as he explained why the ''very difficult'' operation was taking longer than first predicted, comparing the search for the hostages to looking for the ''proverbial needle in the haystack.'' Abaya, who commands 4,000 soldiers and policemen involved in the hostage rescue bid, also said the troops were finding it difficult to engage the bandits in actual battle.

''It's like a boxing match where your opponent keeps running. No knockdowns,'' he said. ''We have a very elusive target. They know the terrain better than the military . . . (We are) going after a group which is very mobile, and trying to rescue hostages who are also mobile,'' the general said, adding that the Abu Sayyaf enjoyed local support.

However, ''we have reason to say we are closing in and that their area is getting smaller and smaller. They are also getting tired. We are pressing on,'' Abaya said.

The Abu Sayyaf's core group of about 400 fighters ''is still intact,'' according to the commander. The military estimates that the kidnapping group has grown to around 4,500 members, but adds that most of the new recruits were drawn in by the prospect of large ransoms.

On hostages

Abaya assessed the operation during the first officially sanctioned media visit to Jolo. ''As far as reports are concerned, all of the hostages are alive and they are in Jolo,'' he said. Before Mercado briefed reporters about yesterday's firefight, military intelligence sources told Agence France Presse that Andang and his unit had been seen on Tumantangis mountain near Indanan town.

But troops held back because he was using 12 Filipino hostages from the Jesus Miracle Crusade as human shields. ''If the decision were mine I'd flatten the mountain'' with artillery, said one high-level military source. Abaya said there had been no reported sightings of three Malaysian hostages.

He said US hostage Jeffrey Schilling and one other Filipino hostage were ''in the general area of Panamao and Luuk'' in eastern Jolo, but he refused to comment on Palace statements that troops had encircled the faction holding Schilling and were close to rescuing him.

The American made a fresh appeal over local radio yesterday, urging the government ''to stop the operation so that we can negotiate. As long as the operation is going on, we can't stay in one place.''

Body count

Reyes and Abaya claimed that 103 Abu Sayyaf gunmen had been killed, against the loss of only one soldier and two civilians. Reyes said that troops recovered the bodies of 47 gunmen from 28 clashes, but that based on military intelligence reports at least 56 more have been killed.

Abaya said that the estimate of 103 Abu Sayyaf fatalities includes an ''actual body count'' of 51. Reyes said troops had also arrested 22 suspected Abu fighters, while Abaya put the number at 18.

A faction leader, Radulan Sajiron, was badly wounded in a clash, the officers said. Reyes put government casualties at one soldier dead and six wounded. Among civilians, he said, there were two deaths and four wounded--a figure that has curiously not changed over several days despite continued fighting.

Abaya placed the civilian casualties at four wounded. ''As far as the military is concerned, no civilian deaths have been reported.'' He added: ''All of these Abu Sayyaf casualties were recovered during firefights, so definitely they are Abu Sayyaf members.''

According to Abaya, troops have confiscated 207 firearms plus communication equipment, explosives and rifle parts. Reyes said the troops seized 209 firearms and lost one radio set.

No way to confirm

Unconfirmed reports from evacuees and barangay sources in Jolo suggest that the number of civilian fatalities is much higher than the military claims. Sulu health officer Nelsa Amin said that while there were no confirmed deaths in outlying municipalities, ''we received news of casualties and deaths in some places from my health personnel who are in the field.'' She said she received an unverified report from one area in Talipao that four civilians had been killed.

Amin said she believed there were civilian fatalities but had no way of confirming the reported deaths. ''We only report the number of deaths if there is a certificate of death prepared by our office,'' she said. Muslims, by tradition, bury their dead within 24 hours. '

'To tell you frankly, we only prepare certificates of death if we can see the body'' before it is buried, Amin said. But she added that since there was a war going on, relatives of the deceased could arrange to get the death certificates later.

Dusk-to-dawn search

Late Saturday, an Army company conducted a dusk-to-dawn search of the heavily populated district of Busbos on the outskirts of Jolo town and arrested seven men who could not provide proof of residence, an Agence France Presse report said.

The troops knocked on the doors of a number of pre-selected houses and searched the premises for unlicensed guns and Abu Sayyaf fighters, it said. It was unclear if any guns were found, but seven men were seen being led away by troops who later motored to an Army brigade camp.

Residents said the troops asked the men for taxpayer identification cards, driver's licenses or other forms of identification. Several hundred people lined up outside the Jolo municipal hall early Monday, the first working day after the Saturday night raid, to secure residence certificates.