'Discharged personnel giving ammo to Abu Sayyaf'

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - A security official said some dismissed men in uniforms were providing ammunition support to the Abu Sayyaf, a small but violent militant group blamed for deadly bombings and attacks in southern Philippines.

Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, city police director, said they have received information about the participation of discharged men from the security forces in aiding the militants.

Casimiro, who used to work with the intelligence operation, believed those dismissed personnel could be relatives of the militants.

“May mga dismissed na mga men in uniforms that we have been monitoring helping in the acquisition of ammunition (for the Abu Sayyaf and other criminal syndicates). That is one of the areas we are looking at,” Casimiro said.

He said they have already coordinated with the hierarchy of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to track down those who were dismissed and suspected to be supplying support to the militants.

He said some of the ammunition of the Abu Sayyaf and lost command groups were taken from the encounters which the group engaged against the government forces in Zamboanga peninsula and in the island provinces of Basilan and Sulu.

“We believed they (dismissed men in uniforms) were relatives or have blood ties with some members of the Abu Sayyaf group,” Casimiro added.

A senior military official also reported earlier that the Abu Sayyaf militants are sourcing out their ammunitions and weapons from various sources.

Lt. Gen. Rustrico Guerrero, chief of Western Mindanao Command, made this observation noting the indirect fire tactics of the Abu Sayyaf group by firing heavy volley of rifle grenades. 

Meanwhile, Casimiro revealed that the sprouting numbers of Abu Sayyaf cells operating the kidnap for ransom syndicate are children of the killed Abu Sayyaf leaders and members. 

“They belonged to cell groups that operate in Basilan, Sulu and in Zamboanga peninsula,” Casimiro said. 

He said the sprouting of the terror cells have triggered the government security forces to intensify the security that already led to the arrest late last month at least four suspects in separate law enforcement operations in this city.