The military will send 650 more troops to Sulu to augment soldiers who have been pursuing Abu Sayyaf Group chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and several international terrorists for the past four months.
According to Armed Forces public information officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, nearly 8,000 troops have already been deployed in the island since August but there has been very little progress.
“That’s just to show how serious we are in our desire to once and for all put an end to the menace being brought by the ASG and the Jemaah Islamiyah,” Bacarro said.
Janjalani is believed to be harboring Indonesian terror suspects Umar Patek and Dulmatin, who allegedly sought refuge in the country after they organized the bombings that killed 202 people, mostly Australian tourists, in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002.
The United States government has offered a $10-million reward for the capture of Dulmatin, whose wife was arrested a few months ago by police and military agents, and $1 million for Patek.
Dulmatin is believed to have masterminded the series of bombings in Mindanao last September to avenge the arrest of his wife. The bombings left eight people dead and a dozen wounded.
Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan said the arrival of additional forces will significantly augment the Marine units which have been pursuing the terror suspects and hundreds of their followers and supporters.
Both Bacarro and Caculitan said the massive deployment of government forces has effectively prevented the terror suspects from plotting new attacks. “How we wish to get them soon but nevertheless we have kept them on the run,” Bacarro said.
They said it was important that the terror suspects be kept on the run especially now that the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has begun in Cebu.
The officials also said the deployment is also important because it would allow troops who are already in Sulu some rest and recreation.
Bacarro has appealed to the public to be more patient as the military is exhausting its maximum efforts to capture the terror suspects.
“It was not an easy job [to capture Janjalani’s group] so the operation will continue until we get the high-value targets [referring to Janjalani, Dulmatin, Patek and other top ASG leaders],” Bacarro said.
The presence of thousands of troops in the island was also meant to cover as much space and to constrict the movement of the terror suspects.
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