RP military targeting Abu Sayyaf chief

RP military targeting Abu Sayyaf chief

PHILIPPINES: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered soldiers to nab the chief of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group after one of its top leaders was believed to have been killed in a recent clash, a senior military officer said on Sunday.

Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina, the chief of the southern Philippines forces, said the military was now targeting Abu Sayyaf chief Khaddafy Janjalani, and another senior leader, Ghalib Andang, known as Commander Robot.

Commander Robot led the abduction of 21 people, including Western tourists, from a Malaysian resort in April 2000. All but one were released in exchange for large ransom payments.

Carolina said "Operation Daylight," which targets the remaining Abu Sayyaf leaders, includes rescuing three Indonesian crew members of a tugboat seized last Monday by gunmen.

Another Abu Sayyaf leader, Abu Sabaya, was believed to have been killed with two of his men in a gunbattle on Friday off Mindanao island. --AP