RP military bombs southern islands to flush out rebels

RP military bombs southern islands to flush out rebels

JOLO, Philippines (AFP): The Philippine military resorted to
aerial bombardment of islands surrounding Jolo Friday as they
continued efforts to flush out Muslim rebels holding five
hostages, official sources said.

The assault, which is about to enter its fourth week, has
demoralized many of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group but the
leaders of the kidnapping gang have so far eluded the efforts of
5,000 soldiers and troops to hunt them down.

Artillery blasted suspected hiding places of the Abu Sayyaf
group on southern Jolo island before dawn Friday as soldiers
searched the towns of Panamao, Luuk, Maimbung and Talipao for any
signs of the kidnappers or their captives -- an American, three
Malaysians and a Filipino.

Military and local government sources said the airforce planes
bombed the nearby islands of Pandami and Sitangkai following
reports that Abu Sayyaf members had taken refuge there to escape
the manhunt on Jolo.

Regional military spokesman, Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias said
that "many rebels are planning to surrender to us because of the
extreme pressure of the military operation."

However those wishing to surrender were mostly young recruits
and not the leaders, he added.

Maj. Angelo Gepilano, spokesman of the task force launching
the assault, said the Abu Sayyaf's main leaders were still on
Jolo island, although a few members may have slipped out.

He added that troops were combing through all possible rebel
hideouts, leaving them with fewer places to hide.

"They are really hard-up, running out of supplies now as they
are trying to elude pursuing forces," he said.

The last clash between the Abu Sayyaf and the military took
place late Thursday but no one was killed as the guerrillas
swiftly fled, he added.

Gepilano would not comment on the reported bombing of the
surrounding islands.

Provincial police chief Superintendent Candido Casimiro said
he had placed drugstores in Jolo under tight surveillance to
ensure the Abu Sayyaf could not buy medicine for their wounded
members.

The kidnappers had split up into different groups and were
reportedly holding the captives in different areas.

In Manila, chief government spokesman Press Secretary Ricardo
Puno said that "most of the local communities have begun to
provide information to our soldiers so that they continue to
tighten the noose."

A military intelligence source said they believe senior Abu
Sayyaf leaders Mujib Susukan and Galib Andang, alias "Commander
Robot," were still hiding in the thickly-forested mountains of
Talipao, possibly in a cave.

The military earlier imposed a tight naval cordon around Jolo
to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from fleeing with their captives,
possibly to the Tawi-Tawi island group, the southernmost tip of
the Philippines where they could easily jump off to Malaysia.

Gepilano said that so far 129 rebels had been killed and 53
captured in the operations. Eight government soldiers had been
killed.

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes because of
the fighting and many residents are still afraid to return home
because of the presence of soldiers.

President Joseph Estrada ordered the assault to rescue the
remaining captives of a five-month Abu Sayyaf kidnapping spree,
which had scared off foreign investors from the Philippines,
ravaged the Malaysian tourism industry and earned the gunmen
millions of dollars in ransoms.

The assault forced the gunmen on Monday to ditch 12 Filipino
Christian evangelists who were deemed to be hindering their
flight. Two French captives also escaped on Sept. 19 during the
assault.

The rescued evangelists retracted a previous accusation
against Roberto Aventajado, the former government negotiator with
the Abu Sayyaf, that he had pocketed some of the ransom money
paid to the kidnappers.

The evangelists apologized to Aventajado, conceding that they
had no first-hand knowledge of any wrongdoing and that their
earlier statements about him were based on "hearsay."