50 Abu Sayyaf men neutralized in 2010, says AFP

The military said Tuesday it has neutralized 50 members of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group (ASG) in the last five months. The latest military operations against the militant group was on May 15 when Scout Ranger troops raided an Abu Sayyaf lair in Barangay Gihong, Sumisip, Basilan where an extremist was killed and 15 others were captured, said Brig. Gen. Francisco Cruz, commander of the military’s Civil Relations Service. Captured in the May 15 raid was Abu Sayyaf leader Umar Ipong who has standing warrants of arrest for kidnapping, serious illegal detention, and atrocities in connection with the siege of Lamitan town in Basilan in June 2001. Since January, the military killed 18 militants and wounded and incapacitated 16 others in at least 24 encounters, while one was arrested and 15 others were captured, Cruz said. Seventeen firearms and other war paraphernalia were also recovered from the group, the military said. “This year, the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] has effectively curtailed the terror campaign of the ASG," Cruz said. “Even so, we are doubling our efforts to surpass this achievement based on a roadmap for the strategic, tactical and categorical defeat of the ASG," Cruz added. The Abu Sayyaf had an estimated strength of 390 at the end of 2009, from a peak of about 1,200 in 2000. The latest numbers from the military would suggest that the group’s current strength is now down to 340. “Our military operations against terrorism will not stop. In so doing, the AFP continues to adopt a well calibrated policy to prevent collateral damage and a cycle of violence, Cruz said. "We need to emphasize that the peace and stability in Mindanao does not lie solely on the shoulders of AFP." “We are all stakeholders of lasting peace and sustainable development. Hence, we encourage more interfaith dialogues, and more collaborative efforts with the [local government units] and other agencies, peace advocates, and the entirety of the civil society towards a mutual goal of having a terrorism-free country," he added. —VS, GMANews.TV