Philippine troops admit hostage rescue bid
could last months
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Oct 8
(AFP) - Philippine troops on Sunday swept through remote jungle areas in southern Jolo
island in search of Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremists holding five Malaysian, American and
Filipino hostages.
But 23 days after the start of
a crackdown ordered by President Joseph Estrada, Abu Sayyaf leaders are proving to be
elusive in a cat-and-mouse game with pursuing troops, military officials admitted.
"We can make this all over
before the end of December," armed forces chief General Angelo Reyes told reporters
during a visit to the military's southern headquarters here.
Military officials originally
told Estrada they could wrap up the operation in a week, but later admitted that they made
tactical errors.
Southern command chief
Lieutenant General Diomedo Villanueva said troops were scouring the towns of Talipao,
Maimbung and Patikul on Sunday, two days after the government bombed rebel positions to
flush out Abu Sayyaf remnants.
On Saturday, the military said
there had been sightings of American hostage Jeffrey Schilling and Malaysians Kan Wei
Chong, Joseph Ongkinoh and Mohamed Noor Sulaiman and their captors but there was no news
of a fifth victim, Filipino Roland Ullah.
The military also said it had
widened its search to include islands near Jolo after one Abu Sayyaf member was arrested
last week in Tawi-Tawi island group in the southernmost tip of the Philippines and about
30 minutes by boat from Malaysia.
Villanueva said the Abu Sayyaf
threat "has been contained", claiming that the group had suffered 129 deaths
since the blitz began on September 16.
He said the recovery of caches
of weapons and equipment left behind by the rebels was also "a good sign."
"They are low on food, no
medicine and they have been on the run," Villanueva said. "They have nowhere to
go except to the recesses of the jungle."
Some "prominent
leaders" of the Abu Sayyaf have sent surrender feelers through an unidentified local
official in Jolo, Villanueva said.
Estrada, angered by the
kidnapping spree of the Abu Sayyaf which embarrassed his government, last month ordered
the assault against the rebels to rescue some 19 hostages and destroy the rebel group.
But military officials said
they found the Abu Sayyaf enjoyed mass support and knew Jolo's rugged terrain, allowing
them to outrun an estimated 5,000 police and troops.
Two French captives, taking
advantage of an air raid which surprised the Abu Sayyaf, were able to escape three days
into the assault while 12 Filipino Christian preachers were rescued last week after a
fierce gunbattle.
Only five of the hostages
remain. The military says three of them -- the Malaysians -- are in the custody of Abu
Sayyaf leader Galib Andang, alias Commander Robot, and his ally Mujib Susukan.
They were last week believed
trapped in a marshy area in Talipao town, but there have also been reports that they
retreated deep into the jungle and were hiding in caves.
A senior military spokesman on
Saturday said American hostage Schilling had also been sighted, but would not give
specific details of his whereabouts.
The hostage crisis began in
April, when the Abu Sayyaf snatched 21 Asian and European hostages from the Malaysian dive
resort of Sipadan. All but one of the Sipadan group -- Filipino dive instructor Ullah --
were freed after huge ransom payments.
The rebels, however, later
seized more hostages, including the French journalists who escaped and the 12 preachers.
Last month, the group again raided a Malaysian resort and abducted three Malaysian resort
workers.
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