Philippine military bombs southern islands
JOLO, Philippines, Oct 6 (AFP)
- The Philippine military resorted to aerial bombardment of islands surrounding Jolo
Friday as they continued their effort to flush out Muslim rebels holding five hostages,
official sources said.
The rebels have so far eluded
the efforts of 5,000 soldiers and troops to hunt them down.
Artillery also blasted
suspected hiding places of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group on Jolo before dawn
Friday as soldiers searched the towns of Panamao, Luuk, Maimbung and Talipao for any signs
of the kidnappers or their captives.
Military and local government
sources said that the airforce planes bombed the nearby islands of Pandami and Sitangkai
following reports that Abu Sayyaf members had taken refuge there to escape the manhunt on
Jolo.
The kidnappers have split up
into different groups and are holding the three Malaysians, one American and a Filipino
hostage in different areas.
A military intelligence source
said they believe the senior leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, Mujib Susukan and Galib Andang,
alias "Commander Robot" are still hiding in the thickly-forested mountains of
Talipao, possibly in one of the caves in the area.
However the whereabouts of the
hostages is still uncertain as there has been no sighting of them in days.
There were also reports of more
Abu Sayyaf members being apprehended in the Bongao town in the neighboring province of
Tawi-Tawi, south of Jolo island although authorities would not immediately confirm this.
The military had previously
imposed a tight naval cordon around Jolo island to keep the Abu Sayyaf from fleeing with
their captives but on Thursday, it was announced that an Abu Sayyaf member who took part
in the April 23 kidnapping raid of the Malaysian resort of Sipadan, had been detained on
the main island of Tawi-Tawi.
Troops have since been deployed
to Sitangkai, one of the Tawi-Tawi island group, to "neutralize" any Abu Sayyaf
presence.
The Tawi-Tawi island group, the
southernmost tip of the Philippines is just 30 minutes away by speedboat from the
Malaysian state of Sabah and is the likely jumping-off point for extremists fleeing the
massive assault on Jolo.
The military operation has led
to the death of 127 guerrillas, five soldiers and three government spies by official
count. There have been no new clashes with the Abu Sayyaf in the past four days.
Tens of thousands of people
have fled their homes because of the fighting and many residents are still afraid to
return home because of the presence of soldiers.
President Joseph Estrada
ordered the Jolo assault to rescue the last victims of a five-month Abu Sayyaf kidnapping
spree which scared off foreign investors from the Philippines, ravaged the Malaysian
tourism industry and earned the gunmen millions of dollars in ransoms.
The assault forced the gunmen
on Monday to ditch 12 Filipino Christian evangelists who were deemed to be hindering their
flight. Two French captives escaped on September 19, taking advantage of the bombing which
forced the gunmen to move camp every night.
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