8 killed as Marines clash with Vagni kidnappers

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Government troops yesterday attacked a jungle stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf holding an Italian Red Cross worker hostage, leaving six bandits and two soldiers dead, the military said.

There was no immediate sighting of Italian Eugenio Vagni as five Marines were also wounded in the fighting in Mt. Timahu near Indanan town in Sulu, the military’s Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Lt. Steffani Cacho said.

Cacho said government troops stumbled on some 150 Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the area, triggering the pre-dawn clash.

“Fighting is still ongoing,” Cacho said. “There are casualties on the government side.”

The military said the Marines crept toward the Abu Sayyaf encampment overnight and managed to get as close as five meters before opening fire. After a few hours of fighting, the gunmen broke into small groups and began to withdraw.

Marine reinforcements caught up and clashed with one fleeing group of militants in Barangay Malimbaya, Marines spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said.

He said reinforcements from the Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) 4 tried to block the escaping bandits, triggering another gun battle.

Two soldiers were killed while four others were wounded, Arevalo said.

“But the kidnappers suffered at least six killed and undetermined number wounded,” he pointed out, adding that casualty count from the Abu Sayyaf is expected to increase as the fighting continues.

Arevalo, designated spokesman of the hostage crisis, said there was no sighting of the Italian hostage during the rescue operation.

Arevalo said Albader Parad and Abu Pula Jumdail, the two Abu Sayyaf leaders on the government’s most-wanted list, led the gunmen.

He said intelligence reports revealed the gunmen were aided by Indonesian Umar Patek, a member of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror group that carried out the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia that killed more than 200 people, many of them tourists.

“There was no reported sighting of Vagni. But this was the group of Abu Sayyaf leaders who are keeping (the) kidnap victim,” Arevalo said.

Vagni was one of three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf on Jan. 15.

The Italian has been held hostage for almost six months after his two colleagues, Swiss national Andreas Notter and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba, gained their freedom in April.

Jolo Gov. Abdusakur Tan has given the go signal for government troops and police to mount a rescue operation for Vagni, who is suffering from hypertension and hernia.

Vagni has difficulty moving around but was able to call his family last week, according to military and local officials.

Arevalo said the troops encountered difficulty in their rescue operations since the area is littered with landmines and booby traps planted by the bandits.

“Our casualties were hit by booby traps and landmines laid by the rebels to defend their base,” he said.

According to Arevalo, the military had already pinpointed the rebel camp before the firefight with the gunmen occurred.

“There’s an unusual number (of them) in the area. All the top Abu Sayyaf leaders are there. We suspect they might be planning a big offensive,” he said.

As this developed, presidential adviser on military affairs Arturo Carillo announced that cash assistance would be provided by President Arroyo to families of soldiers wounded and killed in the line of duty in Sulu and Basilan.

Carillo said the President provided a total of P1.4 million for the cash assistance. – With Jaime Laude, Dennis Carcamo, AP