Bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman.
The Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)-trained bomber Abdul Basit Usman is being coddled by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) as government troops continued offensives against the renegade rebel force that has led to the capture a bomb factory in Barangay Dasikil, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, Public Affairs Office (PAO) chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said Monday field reports indicated that small armed bands from two distinct BIFF groups are protecting Usman.
"A certain Mohammad Ali Tambako of Mamasapano town is said to be one of Usman's current protectors. He is a BIFF leader who took part in violent atrocities against civilians both in Maguindanao and Cotabato," Cabunoc said, citing a report by Col. Melquiades Feliciano, commander of the Army's 601st Infantry Brigade.
According to Feliciano, advancing soldiers were able to capture "a factory of improvised bombs" in Dasikil.
"Our troops successfully seized a bomb-making facility after assaulting the enemy positions. The enemy was able to escape but the equipment and materials that are used to fabricate home-made bombs were left behind," Feliciano said.
He disclosed that vital components for assembling the improvised bombs, such as mortar fuses, ammonium nitrate, blasting caps and tie wires were recovered from the site.
It was in Mamasapano where 44 police commandos were massacred on January 25 by hundreds of combined fighters of the BIFF and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The Special Action Force (SAF) commandos were withdrawing after reportedly neutralizing international terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir (nom de guerre Marwan), a Malaysian and top leader of JI, when waylaid by overwhelming numbers of the force.
The SAF operation failed to neutralize the wounded Usman, who, together with some of his men were able to escape.
Earlier, BIFF spokesman Abu Misry Mama had repeatedly denied that they knew Marwan and Usman.
For its part, the MILF, through its chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, denied that they were coddling Marwan and Usman, even as persistent military and police intelligence reports said terrorists and some other private armed groups were "peacefully co-existing" with the BIFF ad MILF.
The MILF had expelled the leaders and followers of BIFF for not supporting the peace talks with the government.
Another BIFF commander, identified as Kagi Karialan, reputedly the most trusted aide of BIFF founder Ameril Umbra Kato, is also said to be coddling up to five foreign terrorists, the military said.
Cabunoc said Karialan has least 100 armed men under his command.
"He led the attack on MILF communities and civilian communities nearby in Kabasalan and Bulol, both in Pikit, Cotabato in two separate occasions, displacing at least 25,000 people," Cabunoc said. "Several tipsters have spotted Usman in the bailiwicks of these cohorts. Five foreign nationals who are believed to be members of an international terrorist organization, were seen moving with Usman as they evaded their pursuers."
Presently, the military said, at least 5,700 affected families have been displaced from their homes in the wake of the renewed offensives against BIFF.
"The AFP has, so far, counted 9 members of the BIFF killed in the recent law enforcement operations in Maguindanao. Three soldiers were also wounded in the fighting," Cabunoc said.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/106083/afp-says-bomb-maker-basit-usman-enjoying-biff-safe-havens
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