AFP gives conflicting reports about ASG leader’s condition following August 9 encounter in Sulu

By Ronron
August 14, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is giving contradicting reports whether or not Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Dr. Abu Pula was hurt in the August 9 encounter against Army troopers.

AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said “Dr. Abu” was reportedly wounded, but Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. and Sulu-based Army commander Col. Mark Antonio Supnet of the 104th Infantry Brigade belied it.

Bacarro said the Army troopers from the 33rd Infantry Battalion even recovered the personal medical kit of Dr. Abu, which has his name on it.

Torres and Supnet, in separate interviews, said, however, the report is not yet confirmed.

“It’s just a rumor here,” Supnet said when reached by phone yesterday.

Bacarro said the report he got is based from “commanders on the field,” quoting intelligence information.

“With the validated report that Dr. Abu was wounded during one of the encounters, of course, definitely, this will have an effect in the movement of the group. They won’t be leaving their commander and they will be protecting their commander,” Bacarro told a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo.

He said that being the paramedic of the group, Abu’s injured condition will also take its toll on their members who will be hurt during operations.

Bacarro said that Abu was with the two other top leaders of the ASG – Albader Parad and Radullan Sahiron, during the encounter on August 9 at Barangay Tambaking in Maimbung town. There were a total of 120 ASG and suspected renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in that encounter.

“There are no reports relative to (Parad and Sahiron) being wounded. The report we received is only Dr. Abu,” Bacarro said.

Bacarro would not disclose the whereabouts of the bandits but he said the AFP has identified their general location.

“We are taking advantage of the situation wherein we are able to locate, identify the general location of our three high-value targets… There are efforts now to run after them, and we will continue running after them until such time that we engage them again,” Bacarro said.

“As of now, we do believe that they are still together in that area,” he added.

Supnet said that as of yesterday, there was still no armed confrontation between the terrorists and the government troops.

The three-day fighting last week in Sulu has claimed the lives of 27 soldiers and reportedly of 32 bandits.

The firefight came as the government troops were also pre-occupied in Basilan, running after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members suspected of being behind the death of 14 Marines soldiers in Al-Barka town last July 10. Ten of the soldiers were mutilated./DMS