January 29, 2005, The Philippine Star, Airstrikes kill 40 JI, MILF rebs, by Jaime Laude,

 Forty suspected terrorists — two leaders of the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah and 38 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels — were killed and many others wounded in Thursday's massive airstrikes and artillery barrage on a terrorist base in Maguindanao. However, the military said it had yet to recover a single body from Butilan Marsh in Datu Piang town. 

 "Based on radio intercepts, we learned that 38 rebels and two Jemaah Islamiyah leaders were killed while scores were wounded in the bombardment," Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza, Armed Forces Southern Command chief, told reporters yesterday. 

 Maj. Gen. Raul Relano, Army 6th Infantry Division commander, said ground troops were poised to assault the terrorist base as of last night. Relano said a military intelligence report showed an unidentified Indonesian was killed along with four local militants after the bombing runs in Barangay Butilan. "The hazy report from our (intelligence) assets in the area said that one foreigner was among those dead," he said. 

 At Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said President Arroyo’s anti-terrorism stance is consistent with her efforts to sign a peace agreement with the MILF. "We are confident that the (military attack) will not hinder the peace talks with MILF," he said. "We will relentlessly pursue terrorist cells wherever they are. Terrorism is our common enemy, and there is no disagreement that it should be defeated." 

 Braganza said the guerrillas had dragged their dead comrades away, making it difficult to say how many were actually killed. On the other hand, Col. Gerry Jalandoni, military ground commander, said residents had reported five people were killed including a man believed to be an Indonesian. "It’s really very hard (to verify)," he said. "The area is still very hostile. What we've got are all reports coming from the locals." 

However, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said he had received reports that just one person had been wounded, but that several houses had been destroyed in the airstrikes and artillery barrages. "It is very difficult to hide this from public knowledge," he said. 

Military officials said many of the terrorists who were the target of the airstrike and artillery barrage had slipped away to Palimbang town, a haven of renegade MILF commanders Abdul Wahid Tondok and Abdul Rahman Biango, who led a raid on two Army outposts in Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak towns in Maguindanao on Jan. 9. Military intelligence reports said Wahid and his men were with Abu Sayyaf leaders and around five to six JI members before the terrorist base was bombed. Relano said the foreigner is presumably one of several Indonesian JI members hiding in the area with Abu Sayyaf leaders and Wahid. 

 A video of Thursday's military operation showed the terrorists fleeing along the river on the marsh as their huts were hit by 250-pound bombs and rocket fire, he added. When the attack took place Thursday, among those believed to be in the area were Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani and at least three JI members, including Dulmatin, who allegedly played a key role in the bombings of two nightclubs in Bali, Indonesia in October 2002, said Col. Franklin del Prado, Army spokesman. 

More than 200 people, most of them foreigners, were killed in the bombings. Braganza said the military’s technical team has intercepted a series of rebel radio transmissions, detailing the extent of damage wrought by the air and artillery assault. "We got the information of their dead and wounded from radio intercept, two of the fatalities are foreigners and both believed to be JIs," he said. 

 Col. Domingo Tutaan, Southcom chief of staff, said Braganza ordered the strikes to prevent Wahid and his men from escaping. "We received information that they have been holed out there since the Jan. 9 attack of the Army detachment in Linantangan village and after verifying intelligence reports, General Braganza gave the go signal for the attack," he said. 

 The attack had been coordinated with the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), he added. However, Kabalu said the MILF has filed a protest before the committee against the military for allegedly violating the ceasefire agreement. "We filed a formal protest with the CCCH," he said. 

"As agreed upon in the ceasefire agreement, the authorities should have sent us a prior notice if they are to pursue criminals in an area." Kabalu said the government and the MILF have agreed that the police or military must send an order of battle before launching any attack against criminals in rebel-held territory. "We have agreed that the authorities should first send us a priority list of criminals they are pursuing so we can verify if these people are really in the targeted area," he said. 

 But Kabalu said Thursday's strike against the terrorist base would not affect the peace talks set in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Feb. 5. "The scheduled resumption of the formal talks will push through in spite of these clashes," he said. Troops from the Army’s 604th Infantry Brigade have set up checkpoints on entry and exit points in Butilen Marsh to prevent the terrorists from escaping, said Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual, Armed Forces public information chief. 

 Jalandoni said Wahid, along with fellow renegade commanders Aguila and Bagundali, has been giving sanctuary to JI terrorists Dulmatin, Marwhan, Patek and Mauyha, all implicated in the Bali, bombings. "The JI members we’re hunting down are enjoying the protection of Wahid, Aguila and Bagundali," he told reporters yesterday. 

 The MILF leadership should turn over the renegade commanders and the JI terrorists to the police or military so they can be charged in court, Jalandoni said. — With reports from John Unson, Marichu Villanueva, Lino dela Cruz, Edith Ragalado