Remaining battles with Abu Sayyaf won’t be easy--military

By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 02:20pm (Mla time) 01/26/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The remaining battles of the military with the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf will not be easy as the bandits have broken up into smaller groups following the deaths of their top leaders, one of the generals leading the fight against the extremist group said.

At the same time, Brigadier General Ruben Rafael, commander of the
counterterrorism Joint Task Force Comet, said the neutralization of the remaining Abu Sayyaf commanders -- Radullan Sahiron and Isnilon
Hapilon -- would not spell the end of the Abu Sayyaf.

"They [Abu Sayyaf] are always on the move, making it more difficult to track them down. How are we going to deal with that?" Rafael told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.

"In the life of a soldier, nothing is easy… It's always difficult, You expect the worst," Rafael said.

Running around in small groups, the Abu Sayyaf is not likely to engage government troops and will try to outrun them whenever they can, Rafael said.

Rafael refused to give a timeline to finish off the Abu Sayyaf, but he said the marching orders from the military leadership were to "neutralize them and finish them off soonest."

Rafael said humanitarian and development projects should accompany the military offensive against the bandits in Sulu to deny the bandits sanctuary.

Asked if the Abu Sayyaf would be wiped out when Sahiron and Hapilon were captured, Rafael said: "The effort in Sulu will not end there, it should continue with socio [civic projects], because [the] problem should be approached in a holistic manner."

The Abu Sayyaf's first- and second-in-command, Khadaffy Janjalani and Jainal Ante Sali alias Abu Sulaiman respectively, were killed in encounters with government forces, alongside several sub-commanders.

Rafael said Sahiron was still in Sulu with two Jemaah Islamiyah explosives experts who allegedly masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings, Umar Patek and Dulmatin. The two were reported to have been wounded in recent clashes.

Authorities are verifying reports that Hapilon has slipped back to his base in Basilan province, he added.

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