‘Sayyaf ground getting smaller’

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The "playground" of Abu Sayyaf extremists in Basilan, where they have been holding an American couple and a Filipina nurse captive for nine months now, is getting smaller with the help of a sophisticated American warplane and satellite technology.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said here yesterday Abu Sayyaf hiding places are dwindling because the pace of ongoing military operations is being hastened by US satellites and a P3C Orion aircraft.

"The hiding places of the Abu Sayyaf are being reduced because troops reach them faster," Adan said.

He cited satellite technology and the US P3C Orion which are being used in the joint RP-US "Balikatan" training operations in Basilan.

The P3C Orion is a land-based, long-range anti-submarine warfare plane fitted with sophisticated computers, including an infra-red detection system. It is capable of launching deep-penetrating air-to-surface missiles.

The aircraft has been in use by the US military since 1962 but has been continually updated and is now used for both anti-submarine and land warfare. The P3C Orion is also being used in the anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan.

While Adan did not mention if Filipino technicians are allowed on board the aircraft, he said the ongoing training is exposing Filipino troops to the advantages of remote command-and-control.

"Our troops can now send feedback (real-time)," Adan said.

However, analysts said the use of the aircraft would likely be limited for six months because the aircraft are assigned to maritime patrol aviation (MPA) squadrons that are only deployed outside the US for six months at a time.

Each MPA squadron has nine P3C aircraft and is manned by approximately 60 officers and 250 enlisted personnel. Each 11-person crew includes both officer and enlisted personnel.

Meanwhile, Basilan local government officials, led by Maluso Mayor

Sakib Salajin, continued his campaign against the Abu Sayyaf as authorities arrested another Abu Sayyaf member in that town.

Chief Inspector Jerry Bayabos, operations chief of the provincial police command, identified the suspect as Kanoh Salihin, whom witnesses positively identified as an Abu Sayyaf member.

Authorities said the military and local government operations are sufficiently crippling the Abu Sayyaf that the extremists have resorted to spraying the houses of their critics.

In Tipo-Tipo town, extremists sprayed a house witb bullets and wounded a 27-year-old man and his 18-year-old sister late Thursday but an American military doctor, identified only as Captain McGraw, arrived with Filipino forces after the gunmen fled and helped extract the bullets from the bodies of the two victims.

"They’re all fine," said Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias of the Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom), adding the Abu Sayyaf had been threatening town residents, demanding food and water and warning them against informing the military of their presence.