Military stops pursuit operations against Abu bandits

From the Business Mirror (Apr 17): Military stops pursuit operations against Abu bandits

THE strategy of beleaguered members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) to mingle with civilian communities, where families of armed members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are found, has forced the military to temporarily stop pursuit operations in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, Col. Carlito Galvez, commander of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade, said on Wednesday.

 

“They retreated to and mingled with civilian communities. The hardest part of our job is that we cannot just assault them because there are armed members of the MILF in those places. We don’t want to fall into this trap of the bandits because there is a possibility that if we pursue them, our soldiers might got in contact with MILF members,” Galvez said.

 

On Monday elite forces from the Scout Ranger and Special Forces stormed the lair of ASG sub-leaders Insilon Hapilon and Furuji Indama in Barangay Silangkum, Tipo-Tipo, and overran their camp after an hour of assault.

 

The running gun battle extended for two more hours before the soldiers got information that eight of the bandits were killed and one among the wounded was Hapilon. Three were wounded on the military side.

 

Galvez said two personalities of the Jemaah Islamiyah were also with the bandits.

He said another sub-leader, Nurhasan Jamiri, was also in the province.

 

Galvez said representatives of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and one from the MILF were already coordinating with the military in the area to talk about the resumption of pursuit operations against the fleeing bandits.

 

“Nag-uusap uli ngayon, nandito ’yung International Monitoring Team at saka ’yung MILF representative. I’m so happy na talagang walang nagre-enforce na MILF, walang nag-coddle sa mga bandido,” Galvez said.

 

At present, there are six battalions or more than 6,000 soldiers, majority are elite forces, deployed to hunt down more or less 200 Abu bandits in Basilan.

 

Most of the latest victims of high-profile kidnapping incidents were traced to the ASG in Basilan. 

 

http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/news/regions/12194-military-stops-pursuit-operations-against-abu-bandits