August 13, 2002, The Philippine Star, Two Abu Sayyaf rebels killed in southern Philippines,

August 13, 2002, The Philippine Star, Two Abu Sayyaf rebels killed in southern Philippines,

Zamboanga City [in the southern island of Mindanao]: A ranking Abu Sayyaf commander slipped from a military dragnet but two of his followers were killed when government troops raided one of the terrorist group's lairs in a remote Basilan town at dawn last Sunday [11 August], the military reported yesterday.

The fresh fighting between the military and the Abu Sayyaf broke six months of calm in Basilan brought by the joint RP [Republic of the Philippines]-US Balikatan 02-1 exercises.

Col Alexander Aleo, Philippine Army 103rd Brigade commander, said troops from the 32nd Infantry Battalion stormed the jungle lair of Abu Sayyaf commander Amir Mingkong at 5 a.m. [local time] Sunday in sitio Labu-Labuan in Barangay Pamatsakin, Sumisip town.

Mingkong, a top "lost command" guerrilla linked to the Abu Sayyaf, escaped while two of his men died in the ensuing firefight.

Aleo said his men recovered an M-16 rifle from the slain guerrillas. He said he believed many members of Mingkong's band who fled the fighting were wounded in the encounter.

"This is so far the first fighting that we engaged (in) against the bandits following the long and deafening silence that we have sustained through continuous combat operations to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from establishing ground," Aleo said. He added that security operations on Basilan continue, even as US troops remain in the province conducting humanitarian missions.

Some 100 US Special Forces are still in Basilan as part of the security detail of American soldiers conducting these humanitarian missions.

Meanwhile, the military has beefed up its forces in three towns on the neighbouring island of Sulu as government offensives continue to flush out leaders and fighters of Abu Sayyaf rebels in Sulu.

Task Force Comet and chief of the 1st Army Division in Western Mindanao Maj-Gen Glicerio Sua said pursuit operations continue against the Abu Sayyaf faction led by Ghalib Andang alias Commander Robot.

The massing of troops in Sulu resulted in an encounter in Parang town that left a still undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf casualties.

"The pursuit operations continued," Sua said. "In fact, many troops are deployed in the area as part of the mission to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu." He said the focus of the pursuit operations centres on the towns of Indanan and Maimbung, where the bandits led by Andang and his close associate Mujib Susukan are based. "The effort is continuing against the Abu Sayyaf (as) part of 'Oplan Daylight' to get all the leaders of the Abu Sayyaf," Sua added.

Military reports disclosed that Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadafi Janjalani has merged with the faction of Abu Sayyaf commander Radulan Sahiron in Patikul town in Sulu, while the group of Umbra Jumdail alias Commander Dr Abu Pula is based in the Sulu town of Talipao.

Source: The Philippine Star web site, Manila, in English 13 Aug 02