Abu leader Hapilon may be wounded but eludes capture in Sulu clash

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Using their mastery of the terrain, Abu Sayyaf bandits eluded Army Scout Rangers and troops from the US-trained Light Reaction company, and escaped into the jungles of Sulu yesterday.

However, Col. Alexander Aleo, commander of the Army’s 104th Brigade in Sulu, said Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon might have been wounded in the clash.

"Isnilon is wounded and soldiers are tracking him down," he said.

No government casualties were reported but seven soldiers were wounded in the fighting, he added.

Aleo said troops were cautiously following the tracks left by Hapilon and his men who slipped into the jungle to evade pursuing government troops.

"They may have escaped, but this does not mean that they will continue to escape because we are not stopping any of our operations," he said.

Last Sunday, an Army Scout Ranger was killed and eight others wounded when government troops clashed with the Abu Sayyaf in Barangay Bulot in Indanan town.

Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya, Armed Forces Southern Command chief, said Army Scout Rangers and troops from the US-trained Light Reaction Company fought the bandits at around 9 a.m.

"Our troops are certain they have inflicted undetermined casualty," he said. "The offensive operation continued as the bandits were firing in their retreat."

Abaya said government troops have detected that Abu Sayyaf leaders from Basilan were trying to link with other Abu Sayyaf gunmen in Sulu.

The troops relied on their individual weapons and did not have any air support, Abaya added.

The Abu Sayyaf has also been held responsible for a powerful blast in the Malagutay district of Zamboanga city last Oct. 2, which killed a US Green Beret and two Filipino civilians, and wounded 24 others.

Last year, the US government put a $5 million bounty on the heads of Hapilon, Khaddafi Janjalani, Jainal Sali alias Abu Solaiman, and Hamsiraji Sali for the kidnapping and murder of Americans Guillermo Sobero and Martin Burnham.

Sobero was beheaded in June 2001, while Burnham was killed when the Abu Sayyaf clashed with troops sent to rescue him the following year. Martin’s wife Gracia was rescued.

Col. Douglas Lengenfelder, commander of US troops in Zamboanga City, said Abu Sayyaf guerrillas are still a threat to American troops in Mindanao despite government claims of successes against them.

Lengenfelder said the US is cooperating in "intelligence and physical security in the field" with the Philippine military to protect American soldiers in Mindanao.

"We have taken steps to protect our soldiers," he said.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes said the new batch of US troops will train at least four Philippine Army battalions and 16 light reaction companies for counter-terrorism operations. –Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude, AFP