Basilan hostilities erupt anew a day after blasts

Hostilities broke out anew in Basilan Wednesday morning as hundreds of policemen and soldiers pursued fleeing members of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) tagged as culprits in last Tuesday’s attacks that killed 12 people and wounded others. Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, Basilan Police director, said pockets of resistance were monitored in at least three barangays in Isabela City as bandits trapped in the police and military cordon desperately tried to find a way out. A total of 100 Marine commandos and 220 policemen have sealed off the island province's capital right after deadly blasts and ensuing clashes in what authorities considered as bloodiest attack on Basilan in the last 20 years. "They [the bandits] splintered into small groups after the attacks [Tuesday], we are now conducting aggressive pursuit operations," said Mendoza. According to Mendoza, the first gun battle occurred at around 8 a.m. in Barangay Begang when eight Abu Sayyaf bandits engaged the pursuing Marine commandos, saying that the bandits took several people hostage and turned them as human shields. Similar firefights also broke out in the nearby barangays of Belano and Pangaraan, which were supposed to be used as escape routes of the bandits towards the jungles of the nearby towns. "There are no reported casualties so far, the pursuit operations are on going," he said. - LBG, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV