December 20, 1998, PHNO, Mindanao Red Alert, Abu Sayyaf Retaliation Feared,

Zamboanga City, Dec. 20, 1998 - Military and police forces in Western Mindanao are now on red alert status as authorities and residents fear possible retaliation from Muslim extremists following the death of their leader, Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, in a gun battle with government forces.

Chief Inspector Reynaldo Romo and Police Officer 2 David Magnaye, who were killed during the encounter with Janjalani's group in Lamitan, Basilan, late Friday afternoon, received posthumous promotions from Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Roberto Lastimoso.

"The Abu Sayyaf has lost its leader and this is the best time to strike," Lastimoso told reporters during a visit in Basilan, where armored troop carriers and Marines patrolled the streets of the capital town of Isabela.

"Security measures must now be intensified following the death of the country's most wanted criminal," Lastimoso said.

Janjalani, the Libyan-trained leader of the Abu Sayyaf extremist group, carried a P1.5-million bounty for his capture. He was linked to kidnapping and bomb attacks on Christian churches in Western Mindanao.

Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Angelo Reyes and his counterpart in the police ordered all camps to beef up security.

Chief Superintendent Dominador Domingo, the regional police chief, said: "We are expecting a retaliation from the Abu Sayyaf group."

Observers here said Janjalani's death could deal a severe blow to the Abu Sayyaf, a group of about 200 young radical Muslims, many of them trained in Libya and Afghanistan is pushing for a separate Islamic state in Mindanao.

It is linked to international terrorist cells and has been implicated in a foiled attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II during a visit to the Philippines in 1995, the same year they were blamed for the massacre of 53 people in Ipil town.

Abu Sayyaf (which means "Bearer of the Sword") was blamed for a bomb attack on a shopping mall in Zamboanga City last Wednesday in which at least 65 Christmas shoppers were wounded.