Abu Sayyaf sub-commander killed in Sulu clash

By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 10:53pm (Mla time) 01/09/2007

MANILA -- A sub-commander of the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group was killed in an encounter with Army Scout Ranger and intelligence troops early Tuesday evening in the southern island province of Sulu, where top terror suspects are trying to outrun government forces, the military said.

Binang Sali alias Freedom, allegedly responsible for bomb attacks in the provincial capital of Jolo, was killed in the brief firefight on Mount Pula in Upper Halay village, Patikul town at around 8:20 p.m., said Armed Forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro.

The bandit leader's remains and his .45-caliber pistol were recovered from the scene, Bacarro told reporters in a text message without giving further details.

"His [Sali's] neutralization translates to one bomber less that could carry out an attack on any target during the ASEAN summit," Esperon said, referring to the regional leaders' meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cebu province, which kicks off Wednesday.

Security officials had maintained that there is no specific terror threat on the ASEAN summit.

Sali is the seventh Al Qaeda-linked militant killed in gun battles with the military in the south in three days. On Saturday, five Abu Sayyaf members including sub-commanders Abu Hubaida and Black Killer, and an Indonesian JI member, Gufran were killed in a firefight at sea with Marine and Navy troops off Tawi-Tawi province.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called the Tawi-Tawi encounter a "stunning victory" for the Armed Forces as she warned the extremists that they are "doomed to annihilation."


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