JI operative killed in Tawi-tawi clash - AFP

By Ronron
January 7, 2007 (Sunday)

Manila - A member of the Jeemah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group was among those killed in Saturday’s encounter between Moslem extremists and government troops in Tawi-tawi in southern Philippines.

According to Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan, the JI member was identified by military intelligence agents as a certain GAFUR, alias Abu Samur, an Indonesian national.

Gafur was with the group of six other Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) rebels that fought against members of the Special Operations Platoon of the 2nd Marine Battalion, under Maj. Joseph Ferrous Cuison, at around 4:55 pm of January 6.

Caculitan said the incident happened at the waters of Panglima, Sugala in Tawi-tawi.

“The six terrorist members of the ASG/JI were escaping the heat of combat operations in Sulu when they were caught up with operating elements of the 2nd Marine Battalion based in Tawi-tawi,” Caculitan said yesterday.

He identified the other fatalities as Abu Hubaida, a pioneering ASG member; Jundam Jamalul, alias Black Killer, an ASG sub-leader with a P1 million reward; Ibrahim Hassan, alias Abu Muksin, an alleged trustee of ASG leader Khadaffy Janjalani; Gadar Abubakar; and an unidentified member.

Another ASG member was also allegedly killed in the same encounter but his body fell into the sea and could no longer be found.

No one from the government side was hurt or killed in said incident.

Government troops recovered from the encounter site two M16 rifles, one M203 grenade launcher, and hundreds of ammunitions.

“The terrorist group was being pursued by elements of Marine Forces Reconnaissance Batallion up to Capual and Pata Island two days ago. But when the group slipped through and reached the waters of Tawi-tawi, elements of the 2nd Marine Battalion took over and intercepted these terrorists,” Caculitan said.

The Marine spokesman attributed the success of the operation to the “AFP’s good intelligence and Fleet-Marines Operations.”

“This only shows that the operating units of the AFP are bent in destroying the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members and their JI cohorts in order to give the people of Mindanao a better opportunity to achieve peace and progress,” said Caculitan.

The ASG and JI have been blamed by local authorities for a number of terrorist activities in the different parts of the country, like bombings and kidnappings over the last few years./DMS