Troops close in on Sayyaf lairs

ZAMBOANGA CITY — About a thousand government troopers penetrated yesterday lairs of Abu Sayyaf bandits in the jungles of Sulu, according to military sources.

The military launched its renewed offensive as President Arroyo said she would cut off the head of the proverbial monster that is the Abu Sayyaf.

"It gives us the opportunity to finish them off once and for all, to sever the head of the plague once and for all," the President said.

A brigade of Scout Rangers moved out of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Command (Southcom) headquarters here on Tuesday night and is now deployed around Patikul and Talipao towns.

Another brigade from the Army’s First Division has also arrived at Southcom headquarters and is expected to be deployed in Basilan, which is also infested with Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Military sources said Marines are also expected to be deployed for the offensive, called Task Force Trident II, but it was not clear if task force chief Brig. Gen. Glicerio Sua had recommended the move.

The sources had said there were now sufficient forces pursuing some 300 Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu but more troops may be deployed depending on Sua’s recommendation to Southcom chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling.

AFP chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva confirmed that "limited" attacks commenced yesterday but assured the people that the assault will not halt civilian activity on the islands.

"Military operations have started in Sulu and in Basilan provinces. This is guerrilla warfare and government forces are now pursuing the terrorists," Villanueva said.

No less than President Arroyo ordered the military to "annihilate" the Abu Sayyaf after the bandits threatened to behead their American captive Jeffrey Schilling if their demands are not met.

The Abu Sayyaf had earlier said they would behead Schilling as a birthday gift for Mrs. Arroyo today.

The military believes the bandits may indeed make good their threat just as they had done last year when they beheaded two male teachers as a birthday gift for then President Joseph Estrada.

"They might do it again because they’ve done it before during the time of Estrada," said Brig. Gen. Jaime Canatoy, Armed Forces Civil Relations Service chief.

But Canatoy said it is also possible the Abu Sayyaf extremists were only making threats so that the military would hesitate in its offensive.

"It could be a ploy because they want the ongoing operations against them to stop," Canatoy said.

But Sulu Gov. Abdulsakur Tan believes the bandit group would not behead Schilling, who is reportedly a Muslim convert and husband of a relative of one their leaders Abu Sabaya."No, they will not do that," Tan said. "Why would they do that? What for? It will not gain them anything if they harm Schilling."

But since the government has adopted a no-negotiation policy with the Abu Sayyaf, the military appears more concerned with the effect of hostilities on Sulu and Basilan residents.

"Their freedom of movement will not be curtailed and our soldiers will respect human rights," Villanueva added.

The AFP chief made the assurance after former senator and Muslim leader Santanina Rasul asked for caution in the offensive as it may affect civilian communities around rebel lairs.

Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Benjamin Defensor, for his part, said the Air Force has modified several helicopter gunships for the looming military offensive.

In an interview at Clark Field in Pampanga, Defensor said they modified the aircraft to improve their accuracy in hitting targets on heavily forested terrain.

"It’s the accuracy that’s important, not the number (of aircraft)," Defensor said, refusing, however, to specify what modifications had been done on the aircraft.

"I’m trying to make our aircraft multi-purpose so that they could be used for both insurgency and relief and rescue operations," he added.

Military intelligence estimates the Abu Sayyaf has a total strength of some 1,269 men with 372 firearms spread in deeply forested areas in Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and the Zamboanga peninsula.

As of Feb. 28, the military reported that 247 bandits have been killed since the September assault in Basilan and Sulu while 185 others were captured and 293 others surrendered.

The campaign has also resulted in the recovery of 788 firearms, many of which are believed to have been bought by the ransom they collected from their kidnapping spree last year. — With Paolo Romero, Ding Cervantes