"I am hopeful maybe before the start of the year we will be able to get the high value targets Sahiron, Dulmatin, Patek, and Janjalani," Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Mindanao Command (AFP-Wesmincom) told Camp Aguinaldo reporters. Cedo was in Manila for the 71st anniversary of the AFP.
Patek and Dulmatin are members of the Jemaah Islamiyah, the Indonesia-based Islamic radical group that was believed responsible for most of the terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia. The two, together with Janjalani, reportedly have links with Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda group.
At least 8,000 Army and Marine soldiers are hunting Dulmatin, Patek, and Janjalani in the jungles of Sulu.
Cedo dismissed as "disinformation" reports that the three high-value terror suspects were able to leave Sulu for Basilan on Sept. 3.
Latest reports said Dulmatin is now back at a JI training camp on Mt. Cararao while Janjalani and his group left Basilan for Sultan Kudarat last Dec. 8. The whereabouts of Patek were unknown.
"Based on intelligence information, they are still in the island. They can’t get support from any other place other than Sulu," Cedo maintained. He said Navy ships surround Sulu and are under instructions to "intercept dubious watercraft" leaving the island. Cedo said the arrest of the militants would break the backbone of the Abu Sayyaf whose strength stands only at around 400 combatants.
"You know, the concept is that if you destroy the leaders, the others will just follow, they will surrender or what," Cedo said.
Previous military commanders in Mindanao had predicted the end of the Abu Sayyaf movement following the death of its founder Abdurajak Janjalani, elder brother of Khadaffy in 1998. Abu Sayyaf survived with the younger Khadaffy at the helm.
He stressed the Abu Sayyaf is not covered by the unilateral ceasefire declared by the government.
"The terrorists are not included in the SOMO (suspension of military offensive). The operations against them continue without letup," Cedo said.
President Arroyo approved AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon’s unilateral truce with communist rebels. The ceasefire takes effect on Dec. 24 to 25 and on Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, 2007.
Military commanders in Sulu early this week said that terrorist groups broke into small groups to divide the troops’ attentions.
"The leaders have separated and broke into factions and its quiet now because we have to locate them all," Gen. Juancho Sabban, 3rd Marine Brigade commander based in Patikul said.
"But our forces continued to gear up to catch them wherever they are," Sabban added.
In Davao City, Army Col. Allan Luga took over Thursday as commander of Task Force Davao, the Army unit that deals with terrorism in Mindanao.
Luga replaced Col. Eduardo del Rosario, who was named chief of AFP’s Joint Special Operations Group based in Camp Aguinaldo.
Luga used to head the AFP Joint Operations Center, also in Camp Aguinaldo before joining Task Force Davao.
The task force was established in April 2003 following the twin bombings in Davao City that claimed over 40 lives and injured over 130 people.
10th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac administered the turnover rites. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and local officials, including leaders of the various Muslim and Lumad groups in the city attended the turnover ceremonies.
Duterte cited the efforts of Del Rosario in addressing the terrorist threat by securing the cooperation of the Muslim and Lumad groups from whom suspected terrorists usually seek help. — With Roel Pareño, Edith Regalado