Over 3,000 soldiers hunt down Abu Sayyaf in Basilan

From InterAksyon (Mar 24): Over 3,000 soldiers hunt down Abu Sayyaf in Basilan

At least six battalions are now deployed to hunt down some 200 Abu Sayyaf bandits to neutralize the “remnants” of the group that has plagued Basilan province for a long time and prevented vital infrastructure from being completed.

The doubling of the military hunters was revealed a day after a former Australian soldier was released by the Abu Sayyaf, reportedly in exchange for some P7 million in ransom.

The 3,000 soldiers now in the island province represent a doubling of the force deployed last year. “At present, we’ve six battalions in Basilan from only three battalions last year. So we’ve already a hundred percent increase of troops there,” Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, said Sunday.

Some of the battalions were from elite military units: the Special Forces (SF) and Scout Rangers.
Besides the goal to “neutralize” the Abu Sayyaf remnants in Basilan, the government, Cruz explained, also wants to “finish the construction of the Basilan circumferential road network,” a vital infrastructure for the island province.

Work on the Basilan circumferential road had been repeatedly disrupted by lawless groups, including the Abu Sayyaf. There were reports that some American servicemen in Mindanao who were involved in the construction were among the casualties of attacks.

The AFP operations against the Abu Sayyaf temporarily gave way to the release of Warren Rodwell, 54, who was recovered Saturday at the port area in Pagadian City amid reports of ransom having been given to the ASG---a matter that Cruz claims they have no knowledge of.

Rodwell, a former soldier now married to a Filipino, was abducted by armed men on December 5, 2011 in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/57845/over-3000-soldiers-hunt-down-abu-sayyaf-in-basilan