Military tightens noose on suspected Bravo hideouts

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Government troops tightened the noose on the group of wanted Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leader Abdurahman Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, whose forces have holed out in the jungle boundaries of the Lanao provinces.

Col. Adane Adriatico, spokesman for the military’s Task Force Tabak going after the MILF rebels, said they have already pinpointed where Bravo and his forces are hiding.

Adriatico said the latest intelligence reports showed the exact location of the rebels, who are now surrounded on all sides in the jungle boundaries of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.

“Inch-by-inch the troops continued closing on in his location,” Adriatico declared.

Adriatico said intelligence assets working separately in the area had spotted Bravo and his forces.

He said the intermittent clashes in the area indicated the heavy presence of rebel blocking forces to delay the offensive and mislead government troops.

“The continued operation and intelligence tracking has turned the area into a little place for Bravo to move,” Adriatico added.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Alexander Yano earlier declared that Bravo and his forces are now “constricted within a limited area.”

Yano said it would not take long before Bravo and his men are neutralized.

Yano said military and police forces in the area have cleared and secured most of the rebel camps.

He said the sporadic and increasing gun battles in the past few days indicate the troops are closing in on rebel positions.

Government forces have been hunting Bravo, along with other senior MILF commanders led by Ameril Umbra Kato, for leading the deadly attacks on communities in Central Mindanao last month.

At least 16 rebels were killed during a day of fierce fighting this week.

The MILF, on the other hand, claimed 30 troops died in battles over two days of combat.

Maj. Armand Rico, spokesman for the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said nine rebels died in a seven-hour gun battle with troops last Tuesday in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

Seven guerrillas were also killed in artillery strikes in nearby Datu Piang, Rico said. Two soldiers were wounded in the fighting.

Rico said the rebels swooped down on outposts at Barangay Baliki in Midsayap yesterday.

Almost simultaneously, another band of MILF rebels led by Commanders Bods Basilan and a certain Bolkia attacked policemen in Sitio Solok, Barangay Dunguan in Aleosan town.

Troops were able to counterattack in Midsayap while skirmishes continue in Aleosan with Army troops reinforcing the policemen.

Aleosan police chief Inspector Orlando Panzo said two policemen and a civilian guide were wounded in the fighting. – With James Mananghaya, Jaime Laude, AP