US offers $50,000 for MILF bomber

The US government has offered $50,000 or about P2.5 million for any information that will lead to the capture of Abdul Basit Usman, who is wanted for several bombings in Mindanao that killed 15 people.

Usman, a special operations chief of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who now has links with the Abu Sayyaf, has been implicated in three bombings in Cotabato City, Kidapawan and Gen. Santos City last Jan. 10.

The attacks killed seven people and wounded 37 others on the same day the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit opened in Cebu.

The suspect was also blamed for the October 2006 bombings that killed eight people and left 30 others wounded in Makilala and Tacurong in North Cotabato and Cotabato City.

"It is time to bring this despicable terrorist to justice," the US Embassy in Manila said in a statement yesterday.

Anyone with information on Usman, or any other terrorist, is encouraged to contact the Anti-Terrorist Task Force by calling 117, (02) 528-9832, (02) 928-5778, or contact the US Embassy at (02) 526-9832/9833/9834 or send a text message to 0918-948-6412.

Two Filipinos received last May 31 a $500,000-reward from the American government for providing information that led to the arrest of a suspected terrorist in Mindanao last year.

The informants provided the lead on Hilarion del Rosario Santos III, the alleged leader of the Rajah Solaiman Movement, who was arrested in Zamboanga in October 2005 together with six other suspects.

The Rajah Solaiman Movement is composed of former Christians who converted to Islam and the group is also being linked to the Abu Sayyaf and the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah.

Washington had also offered an $11-million reward for the arrest of two Indonesian bomb experts wanted for the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia, where 202 people were killed.

The State Department had authorized rewards of $10 million for Dulmatin and $1 million for Umar Patek for the Bali bombings. The Indonesians are now hiding in Sulu and are being protected by Abu Sayyaf bandits.

The embassy said that the rewards were part of the RP-US cooperation in fighting terrorism.

The $10-million reward for Dulmatin’s capture is the second highest reward offered under the Rewards for Justice Program, next to the $25-million bounty for Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who claimed responsibility for the 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the US.

The embassy stressed that the US is "determined to bring these men to justice for their crimes."

Embassy officials called on ordinary citizens of the Philippines or elsewhere to provide information that can help bring these terrorists to justice, and contribute to the battle against terrorism.

Since its it was established in 1984, the Rewards for Justice Program has paid more than $62 million to more than 40 persons who have provided information that led to the capture or death of terrorists.

The US Embassy paid three Basilan residents P18.7 million each

on Oct. 25, 2004 for providing information that led to the killing of Hamsiraji Sali, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf who was gunned down during an encounter with government troops. -AP, AFP