10 soldiers wounded by Sayyaf landmine

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Ten Scout Rangers, including their commander, were wounded Wednesday when an armored personnel carrier hit a land mine planted by Abu Sayyaf bandits while the troops were on patrol in Maimbung town in Sulu.

Wounded were: Army Lt. Col. Arnulfo Jose Marcos, 1Lt. Joel Deuta, Sgt. Rogelio Pacana, Sgt. Margarito Susada, Sgt. Rogelio Almindral, Cpl. Noel Medel, Cpl. Alexander Castillo, Cpl. Gil Cerse, Cpl. Kim Enson, and Pfc. Ammad Bendadz.

Marine Col. Francisco Gudani, Southern Command deputy chief for operations, said the wounded soldiers were taken to Camp Asturias Station Hospital in Jolo town.

"Most of the victims only suffered minor injuries from the blast," he said.

The explosion damaged the Simba armored personnel carrier and a military truck that was trailing it, he added.

Gudani said a 40-minute firefight broke out when Abu Sayyaf bandits tried to stop reinforcements from coming to the rescue of the Scout Rangers.

"This is an offshoot of the continuous operations of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade (under) Col. Romeo Tolentino," he said.

Gudani said the bandits led by Mujib Susukan fled in different directions after the reinforcing troops kept on advancing to link with Marcos and his men.

Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu told The STAR in a telephone interview yesterday they would pinpoint the Abu Sayyaf’s exact location before they ask the Air Force to resume the air strikes.

"We have not yet started bombarding their (bandits) suspected position," he said. "We are still confirming this through our ground forces."

Cimatu said the Abu Sayyaf have retreated about one and a half kilometers from Barangay Balatanay after their positions were pounded by attack helicopters and planes.

At least 21 bandits were killed and 21 others wounded, while 17 soldiers were wounded, he added.

Cimatu said that after two days of fighting, the bandits "disengaged" from pursuing government troops and split into smaller groups to take advantage of heavy rains.

In another development, Army troops captured two Abu Sayyaf intelligence agents in separate operations in Sulu this week.

Gudani said Nasser Macrohon helped plan the kidnapping spree of the bandits this year, while Limbas Abubakar was assigned to pinpoint military positions in Basilan.

Macrohon, who has a P1 million bounty on his head, was arrested last Tuesday, and Abubakar was captured the following day, he added.–Roel Pareño, Paolo Romero, Mayen Jaymalin