RP official says end near for Abu Sayyaf rebels

RP official says end near for Abu Sayyaf rebels

Reuters, Manila

The Philippines said on Thursday the end was near for the Abu Sayyaf Moro rebel group linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network but added it faced a tough job flushing out the insurgents.

"We have killed about 190 Abu Sayyaf members and captured quite a lot of them and many surrendered also because of the intense pressure of the military. So we are now seeing the end game, the end is near so far as the Abu Sayyaf is concerned," Philippine National Security Adviser Rolio Golez told a business forum, Golez said.

He said the group started in May, 2001 with a little over 1,000 in the regions of Basilan and Sulu and is now down to 180 members due to a very intense military campaign.

But Golez said it was still a tough job for Filipino troops as the rebels were now believed to be hiding in a rugged terrain area on Basilan island.

The Abu Sayyaf, which operates in the south of the country, is included in Washington's list of foreign terrorists organisations, and is also the target of joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines

The group claims to be fighting for an independent state in the south, but in reality pursues kidnap for ransom.

Since May, Abu Sayyaf has been holding an American couple hostage for nine months on Basilan island since their abduction from an upscale beach resort in central Philippines.

Military officials said government troops clashed with the combined forces of the Abu Sayyaf bandits and guerrillas of a separate Moro group in Basilan earlier on Thursday, wounding eight rebels. There were no reports of casualties on the government side.

Golez also said there were some groups trying to obstruct the government's fight against terrorism, namely the New People's Army (NPA) -- the militant arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) which threatened to hurt American soldiers should they wander into their territory.

Communist rebels raided at dawn on Thursday a remote police station in western Samar in central Philippines, killing two policemen and carting away at least 15 high-powered firearms, army officials said.

Separate fighting also broke out between government troops and Moro gunmen belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Magiundanao, southern Philippines, on Wednesday.

Three MILF rebels were killed while a civilian volunteer fighter and a nine-year-old girl were wounded in the clash, Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan said.

The MILF is engaged in peace talks with the government, although there are intermittent clashes with troops.