Gov’t enlists Muslims in search for Al-Ghozi

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Muslim soldiers, some of them Islamic missionaries, have been sent to Central Mindanao to hunt down fugitive terrorist Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi.

Maj. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Armed Forces operations chief, said barangay officials and local religious leaders have been clamoring for the deployment of more Muslim soldiers in their communities.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The Associated Press has reported that Al-Ghozi and other suspected terrorists have tried four times to escape to Borneo island from Mindanao, but aborted their plans because of a large number of security forces on patrol.

"There are reports that these groups tried to slip into our waters," Muhamad Yassin Yahya, commander of the Malaysian military’s fifth brigade Sabah, told The Associated Press.

"We have put our personnel on alert in order to block them from entering our territory."

Muhamad Yassin said the identity of the suspects had not been confirmed, but that they could have been members of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah extremist group or Abu Sayyaf bandits.

No confrontations occurred between the intruders and security forces during the attempts made over the last month, but intelligence received by Malaysian authorities indicated the suspects turned back because they could not slip past Malaysian troops, he said.

Philippine National Police chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said Al-Ghozi is still in the country, although he tried to sneak out a few days after his escape.

"There was an attempt to flee the country, but there are confirmatory reports," he said.

Ebdane said Al-Ghozi will not try to seek refuge in Malaysia or Indonesia because courts in those countries have issued a warrant for his arrest.

"I was informed that he was convicted in Indonesia and (a) wanted (man) in Malaysia," he said.

The police and the Armed Forces are closely coordinating to track down Al-Ghozi and fellow escapee, Abu Sayyaf bandit, Omar Opik Lasal alias Merang Abante, he added.

Esperon said soldiers belonging to the Sallam (peace) unit of the Army’s 6th Infantry division have been deployed to Pikit, North Cotabato and surrounding areas.

"If Sallam units activated earlier had succeeded in working out the surrender of hundreds of Moro rebels from January to June this year, then it would also be possible for them to convince the people in the areas of assignment to turn in Mr. Al-Ghozi," he said.

On a test mission, 75 soldiers integrated into the Sallam Unit will have to convince residents in hostile areas to help the police and military pinpoint the whereabouts of Al-Ghozi, he added.

At Malacañang, President Arroyo has assured the people that the government is taking the necessary action to recapture Al-Ghozi.

"We must press on the hunt (against Al-Ghozi) and we must not let our guard down," she said. "The constriction of terrorist cells across the region could lead to worse acts of desperation."

In a statement on the 42nd day of Al-Ghozi’s escape, Mrs. Arroyo said the "noose around our common sea border" with Malaysia and Indonesia has been tightened to prevent Al-Ghozi from sneaking out of the country.

"I am confident that our collective and coordinated efforts will reap more successes against the common enemy," she said. "The threat to peace and order should be met with utmost vigilance."

Philippine officials have been coordinating closely with authorities in Malaysia and Indonesia to stop Al-Ghozi from using the southern backdoor in his escape, she added.

Esperon and Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, 6th ID commander, had jointly officiated over the weekend the activation of a bigger Sallam Unit.

Military units involved in religious activities in war-torn areas like soldiers from the Sallam Unit and members of 2nd Marine Brigade, are said to be efficient facets in educating the people on their religious obligation to fight terrorism right in their communities.

Members of the Sallam Unit will be deployed in former enclaves of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which are now being developed into "peace zones."

For more than a week now, Pikit residents have been hearing the Islamic call to prayer in the Spanish-era Fort Pikit, a structure which had for three hundred years symbolized colonialism and fanned feelings of religious suppression among local Islamic communities.

A makeshift mosque, jointly built by the 2nd Marine Brigade and the office of Pikit Mayor Farida Malingco, now sits atop Fort Pikit, a strategic hill overlooking the town proper and the vast Liguasan Marsh, a 220,000-hectare delta.

Officials of the 42 barangays in Pikit — many of them identified with the MILF — local officials and members of the 2nd Marine Brigade, inaugurated the new mosque last Aug. 15.

Col. Ben Dolorfino, commander of all Marine units in Pikit and a Muslim convert, said the construction of a mosque inside their headquarters at Fort Pikit is a project of local Islamic communities. — With reports from Christina Mendez, Marichu Villanueva, AP