A civilian was killed and five soldiers were wounded in clashes outside the town of Indanan in Sulu as government troops pursued Abu Sayyaf rebels and several Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants who have joined forces in Mindanao, military officials said.
The officials said at least three Abu Sayyaf rebels were killed and two others wounded as the military launched the air and ground offensive in Indanan, Sulu.
An estimated 200 Abu Sayyaf terrorists have been "contained" in the vicinity of Indanan, clashing at least four times with troops in the mountainous area, an official of the Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) said.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the military appeared to have reliable information on the location of Janjalani and JI militants Dulmatin, who goes by one name, and Umar Patek.
"We hope to capture or neutralize them soon," Ermita said, vowing that there would be no letup in the pursuit operations. "The Armed Forces would not conduct such a massive operation unless it has very good information. So let’s hope it comes up with positive results."
Government troops are exerting all efforts to seal off possible escape routes, Ermita said. "The military is closing the dragnet on them."
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Dolorfino, Southcom deputy operations chief, said that the operation was meant to flush Janjalani and his two JI allies out of the jungle.
Among the JI members believed to be hiding there are Dulmatin and Patek, both wanted for their alleged role in the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
"We have reports that the Indonesians are there in Sulu," said Col. Mark Antonio Supnet, Southcom chief of staff.
A military official, citing intelligence information, said government troops may have indeed finally caught up with Janjalani, who has been on the run since 2003.
"We received reports that Janjalani and his group are just within Indanan and its neighboring area," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said the military is still trying to confirm the terrorists’ whereabouts through civilian informants.
Yesterday, helicopter gunships fired rockets in the vicinity of Indanan town where Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were reportedly converging, said Brig. Gen. Juancho Saban, commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade.
The five wounded Marines were evacuated by the US military.
US troops, who maintain a presence in Sulu as part of counterterrorism assistance, were not directly affected by the fighting, a US military spokewoman said, but a plane contracted by the American military for humanitarian work was used to fly out five wounded Filipino soldiers.
"We certainly support the government of the Philippines in their actions, but our biggest concern and the reason why we are on the island is the safety and security of the citizens," US Navy Cmdr. Katy Wright told The Associated Press.
For security reasons, Wright declined to say how many US troops were in Sulu.
Supnet said Philippine troops were receiving intelligence assistance from the US military but he stressed "there is no US participation in actual combat." The Philippine Constitution bars foreign troops from fighting on local soil.
"We’re not involved in the operations. Our role is strictly advise and assist," Wright said.
Janjalani is thought to have joined with other Abu Sayyaf leaders in Sulu, a hilly, forested island which the Muslim extremists have long used as a base of operations.
Janjalani and a number of militants belonging to Jemaah Islamiyah, an Indonesian-based group also linked to Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network, have been sighted in Sulu in recent months, military officials have said.
Janjalani’s presence has raised concerns that guerrillas may be plotting attacks against Philippine and US troops, who have focused on humanitarian missions including building schools, fixing roads and improving the water supply.
Sulu Gov. Benjamin Loong said 1,000 people from three remote villages outside Indanan town, where the fighting is confined, have been evacuated to safety.
He added that members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which signed a peace accord with the government in 1996 had agreed not to allow Abu Sayyaf guerrillas inside their territory.
"Nobody is giving protection to the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. They are on their own," Supnet said.
MNLF fighters have been ordered by their leaders to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from entering their territory.
The Indanan area was the scene of sporadic gunbattles and shelling late last year, forcing thousands of villagers to evacuate.
"We have been planning and working for months to find and track the terrorist leadership in Sulu and the time is now," the military statement quoted Southcom chief Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon as saying. "This operation is the continuation of months of planning and focused efforts and we will continue to press ahead."
The Abu Sayyaf group, on a US terrorist list, is notorious for ransom kidnappings, beheadings and bombings, including a February 2004 attack that gutted a ferry in Manila Bay and killed 116 people in one of Southeast Asia’s worst terrorist attacks.
The United States is offering $5 million for the capture of Janjalani, who is in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s list of most wanted terrorists for kidnapping and killing US citizens.
Janjalani has long been the subject of a massive military manhunt. In 2003, he was reported spotted in Sultan Kudarat province, where he was believed to have fled after clashes with government forces in Basilan, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold.
Janjalani is believed to be hiding in Sulu since October after escaping a military dragnet in Sultan Kudarat.
Dulmatin, who carries a $10-million bounty on his head, is an electronics specialist with training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and is a senior figure in Jemaah Islamiyah.
He is believed to have been one of the masterminds behind the 2002 Bali bombings. Patek, who has a $1-million bounty on his head, is believed to have served as the assistant for the field coordinator of the bombings. — With Jaime Laude, Roel Pareño, AP, AFP