January 19, 2002, AFP, Philippines not alone in fight against militants: Arroyo,

January 19, 2002, AFP, Philippines not alone in fight against militants: Arroyo,

MANILA, Jan 19 (AFP) -

The entry of American forces in joint operations in the south shows that the Philippines is no longer alone in fighting militants in the area, President Gloria Arroyo said here Saturday.

"We have been fighting for a long time. We were alone in our fight against the Abu Sayyaf," Arroyo said, referring to the Muslim kidnapping group that is still holding two Americans and a Filipino in the southern island of Basilan.

"Now, we have allies in our fight because there is a global war against terrorism," Arroyo said in her weekly radio show.

She defended her decision to allow US forces to engage in joint operations with Philippine troops against the Abu Sayyaf, saying: "We want to destroy the Abu Sayyaf. We want to have the means to carry this out."

A small batch of US advisers are in the southern Philippines setting the stage for the arrival of more US soldiers for lengthy joint exercises. The Americans will initially train Philippine troops in counter-militant operations, but will possibly join them later in assaulting the Abu Sayyaf.

Arroyo denied that she had been pressured to accept the American troops and said that in her meeting with US President George W. Bush in November, he offered use of US troops to fight the Abu Sayyaf but she declined and only asked for equipment and training.

Critics have assailed Arroyo for allowing the US forces to participate in operations against the Abu Sayyaf, saying it may be unconstitutional.

But the government says the deployment is covered by an agreement allowing joint military exercises in the Philippines and has stressed that the Americans will be kept back from the front lines.

The Abu Sayyaf, a small band of Islamic fighters notorious for kidnapping foreigners and Christians for ransom, has been linked by the Philippine and US governments to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, alleged mastermind of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States.

This has prompted the US government to boost military assistance to the Philippines, which was one of the first supporters of its worldwide campaign against terrorism.

On Friday, Arroyo's spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said that US forces would only participate in joint combat missions against the Abu Sayyaf in April at the earliest.

Defence officials had said early this week that some 650 US troops would be involved in the operations but officials later said the final number could be sliced to 400 due to concerns over their security.

The Abu Sayyaf launched their latest kidnapping spree in May, seizing three Americans and numerous Filipinos.

The group has executed more than a dozen hostages last year including one of the American nationals, Guillermo Sobero, who was beheaded in June.