DEAD FOR 2ND TIME? | Was terrorist Marwan killed in Maguindanao? Gazmin says still verifying

From InterAksyon (Jan 26): DEAD FOR 2ND TIME? | Was terrorist Marwan killed in Maguindanao? Gazmin says still verifying

Could South East Asia’s most wanted terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir be among the casualties in the "misencounter" between an elite police force and Moro rebels in what was supposed to be a police operation to arrest two terrorists?

If Marwan is alive, it would be the second time he is reported "dead," having been declared as neutralized in 2002, only to resurface years later.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Monday they are verifying a report that Abdhir, more famously known as Marwan, was killed in the day-long firefights between the police Special Action Force (SAF) and up to 300 armed men of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Up to 53 combatants including a civilian, were killed in that encounter in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao.

“The one in Maguindanao is a [police] operation of high-value terrorist targets. Ngayon nagampanan nila [they accomplished], according to reports . . they were able to neutralize one of them, Marwan, although [the other one], Bassit Usman, got away. So the government will do all its might in order to prevent the terrorists from moving around our area,” Gazmin told Camp Aguinaldo reporters.

He conceded they have no confirmation of Marwan's death, “but that was the report we got last night. We will validate that and I am going to Cotabato City today so that I can get more accurate information to be able to disseminate to you,” Gazmin added.

Reports said earlier it was possible that Jemaah Islamiyah-trained bomber Bassit Usman was also killed.

In 2002, the military reported that Marwan was killed in a firefight somewhere in southern Mindanao. But years later the terrorist turned to be alive.

In early 2014, the military reported Usman was wounded in relentless raids mounted by the military in Maguindanao on the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). The raids led to the capture of one of Usman's wives and an aide.

Sunday incident casualties

Figures vary on the body count from the PNP-SAF arrest operation that became a "misencounter" on the eve of congressional hearings on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law that principally involves the MILF.

The SAF company had gone to Mamasapano to arrest Zulkifli and Usman.
According to the AFP, at least 39 members of SAF were killed in the deadly clash, of whom 38 were killed during the firefight or captured alive and executed; 10 wounded survivors managed to leave the killing zone and were rescued by reinforcements, though one died later in the hospital.

One civilian and three from the MILF side were also killed, said a military intelligence officer.

Police didn't coordinate with Army

According to Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, the SAF did not work with them about their arrest even though the target site was in the 6th ID's area of operation.

This might explain why military reinforcements arrived only at the scene of the firefight at around 4 p.m. Sunday, some 12 hours after the firefight began.

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal complained about the SAF's failure to coordinate with the MILF through the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) and Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH).

He said he was “100 percent, 1,000 percent" certain there was no coordination with the ceasefire [committee]. "There was no coordination with AHJAG.  The police arrived at 3 o’clock from Manila and landed at Zamboanga. So [they were really hiding their] operation,” he added, speaking partly in Filipino.

Iqbal said it was the SAF who first fired their guns, and the MILF members simply retaliated. The MILF and the government were scheduled to start soon the first phase of the process of decommissioning their arms, as part of the comprehensive agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The Maguindanao encounter happened a day before the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of laws was set to hear issues raised about the supposed constitutional infirmities of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/103790/dead-for-2nd-time--was-terrorist-marwan-killed-in-maguindanao-gazmin-says-still-verifying