Military, ASG firefight rages in Basilan

From the Business Mirror (Dec 17): Military, ASG firefight rages in Basilan

Intermittent fighting continued for the fifth day on Thursday between the military and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) defending its camp from being overran by government forces in the hinterlands of Basilan.

The firefight continued, as the bandits, reportedly headed by ASG commander Isnilon Hapilon, managed to put up pockets of resistance against a closing-in battalion of ground forces tasked to capture the bandits’ camp sitting on a forested area in Al Barka.

Three soldiers, including one of the leaders of the assaulting forces, Capt. Vincent Cordero, commander of the Army’s 8th Scout Ranger Company, have been killed, according to Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesman for  the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command.

Tan also identified the two other casualties as Pfc. Marctan Tirambulo, member of the 1st Scout Ranger Company; and Staff Sgt. Jesus Toting, a member of the Marine Special Operations Group.

On Tuesday intense fighting broke out between the soldiers and more than 80 terrorists, who were initially defending the big camp, which resulted in the death of three soldiers and the wounding of 13 others. The firefight spilled over into the barangays of Al Barka, including Macalang.

Tan said ground forces also killed at least 13 bandits and wounded at least 10 others, although he admitted that they have yet to recover the bodies because the ASG, as well as other lawless groups operating in Mindanao usually take along with it the bodies of its dead colleagues.

On Sunday elite troops, including Scout Rangers, Special Forces and those from the Marine Special Operations Group and the Navy’s Special Operations Group,  assaulted a newly discovered, but almost impenetrable, camp of the ASG in Al Barka, as the government intensified its campaign against the group.

Tan said the elite soldiers were backed by armored vehicles.

The campaign was ordered by President Aquino in the aftermath of the series of kidnappings perpetrated by the bandit group and its beheading of its Malaysian kidnap victim Bernard Then.

As of Thursday, the troops were still struggling to take control of the ASG fortress, which is dotted by heavily manned underground outposts, due to resistance from the bandits, led by Hapilon, one of the ASG leaders sought by the United States under its Rewards for Justice Program.

“The operations are taking longer than usual because we could not just go in there. The enemies are hiding, they are concealed, meaning we have to clear the camp little by little,” Tan said.

The local military spokesman said the ASG employs snipers, which is slowing down the tempo of the attack.

Even tanks cannot totally cover the area of operations because the camp sits on a hilly area.

“There are areas where our tanks can roll, and not all of our tanks can go up the mountain,” Tan said.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/military-asg-firefight-rages-in-basilan/