30 Sayyaf bandits killed, arrested in two months

At least 30 Abu Sayyaf bandits have been either killed or captured in Basilan in two months, the period covered by the military’s self-imposed deadline to significantly degrade the capability of the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group in the province. “By our assessment, we had a successful two months," said Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos, a military spokesman. “This has sincerely degraded their capability to launch terroristic attacks against government installations, against government forces." The deadline was set by Armed Forces chief Gen. Delfin Bangit when he visited Basilan, a known hotbed of Abu Sayyaf activities, last March 15. Burgos said the 30 included the Abu Sayyaf members killed and captured last Saturday when elite Scout Rangers raided a bandit lair in Gihong village in Sumisip town. An Abu Sayyaf member was killed while 14 others were captured in that operation. Seized during the raid were six M16 rifles, an M203 grenade launcher, a Garand rifle, a grenade, a blasting cap, a 60 mm mortar shell, Icom radios, camouflage uniforms and combat boots. Burgos said the raid last Saturday was a “very big blow" to the Abu Sayyaf. “That wrapped up our two months of relentless operations against the [Abu Sayyaf] …This is really a big blow to [them] …because we neutralized 15 of them," he said. Burgos said military commanders would conduct an assessment whether or not there is a need to reduce or add more forces in Basilan. At present, there are about 3,000 troops currently stationed in the province. - KBK, GMANews.TV