Philstar.com

Gracia: No Abu-AFP collusion
By Evelyn Macairan And Aurea Calica
The Philippine Star 07/30/2004

American missionary Gracia Burnham wept as she testified against six of her alleged abductors in a heavily guarded court yesterday, recounting a year of jungle captivity and saying that the Islamic extremists who kidnapped her celebrated the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

However, Burnham said there was no collusion between the military and the Abu Sayyaf in collecting millions of dollars in ransom for her fellow hostages.

At the start of her three-hour testimony, Burnham pointed to six of the suspects — Alhamser Manatad Limbong, Abdul Assan Djamla alias Abu Umbran, Khayr Muctar alias Abu Khair, Basher Ismael, Abu Daud and Alsen Balintung Jandul — as among those she saw at the Abu Sayyaf camp in Basilan where they were held in captivity.

A government prosecutor said Burnham was brought to tears twice, one when she described the death of her husband, Martin, during a military rescue operation.

Martin was killed along with Filipina nurse Edibora Yap.

Philippine authorities and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents brought Burnham from an undisclosed Manila safehouse to a special court at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig where eight Abu Sayyaf guerrillas accused in the kidnapping were standing trial. She arrived in the country in secrecy late Monday and is set to leave today at 11 a.m. She is expected to read a short pre-departure statement to reporters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, court sources said.

Police barred journalists, photographers and TV cameras from the proceedings at the camp, which was tightly guarded by Army Special Forces.

Burnham was whisked into the courtroom wearing a baseball cap and a black jacket over a bulletproof vest, her head bowed to avoid cameras.

Authorities reportedly used decoys, dressed in clothes similar to Burnham’s, to mislead photographers and cameramen.

Burnham, from Wichita, Kansas, was invited to testify under a mutual legal assistance treaty between Washington and Manila. The trial is part of the Philippines’ quest to impose justice on suspected militants from the Abu Sayyaf group accused of mass kidnappings, deadly bombings and beheadings.

Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 69 Judge Lorifel Pahimna heard Burnham’s testimony. Pahimna has jurisdiction over the charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with ransom against the eight suspects, who all pleaded not guilty during the arraignment.

Prosecutor Aristotle Reyes said the eight handcuffed suspects, wearing yellow prison uniforms, were separated from Burnham by a wooden grill.

"According to her, she cannot forget them because she ate and lived with them for almost a year," he said. "So far, she is the witness who had the clearest recollection of what happened."

Burnham also was shown a rusty dog chain, attached to two padlocks and handcuffs on one end, and was asked if it was used to shackle her husband Martin to a tree.

"I recognize that chain," he quoted Burnham as saying.

Reyes said he also showed Burnham blue rubber boots she had worn during her captivity. She cried when prosecutors showed her photos of a speedboat and a banca, which she identified as the ones the bandits had used.

"Gracia gave a very smooth narration of her ordeal. It was the strongest corroborative evidence," he said. "We have a strong case."

Burnham’s book, "In the Presence of My Enemies," stirred controversy because of her allegations that an unnamed Filipino general tried to keep half of the money raised for a possible ransom and that soldiers delivered food and sold weapons to the guerrillas.

However, she testified that she did not observe any collusion between the military and the Abu Sayyaf, according to government prosecutors.

Burnham also said she came to know that a P15-million ransom was paid for their release but the group’s spokesman, Abu Sabaya, wanted $1 million more and refused to release them.
No Collusion
State Prosecutor Nestor Lazaro said they had objected to questions about the reported collusion, but Burnham had answered clearly that "there was no collusion between the (Abu Sayyaf) and the military."

Reyes explained that the issue "is irrelevant and inconsistent with the case. It will only clutter the records of the case so we objected to that question and it was sustained by the court."

But Lazaro said "everything is on record anyway, the judge had the testimony on video and tape. She said it under oath. She was no longer able to elaborate."

Acting Justice Secretary Merceditas Gutierrez said Burnham’s "remark, given under oath, in open court should clarify any uncertainties" in her book.

The Burnhams, longtime missionaries for the Florida-based New Tribes Mission, were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary when the Abu Sayyaf snatched them at a posh resort off Palawan on May 27, 2001, taking them by speedboat to Basilan.

Also seized were Guillermo Sobero of Corona, California, and 17 Filipino workers and tourists. Sobero was among several hostages beheaded.

Prosecutor Leo Dacera said Burnham was critical to the case because she was the longest-held hostage.

"She is important in the sense that she would have first-hand knowledge of the suspects who last held her... to tie up the whole conspiracy from beginning to end," he said.

Dacera said Burnham did not only point to four of the six suspects she identified but stated their names. He also said Burnham and her husband would always engage the four suspects in theological and religious discussions while they were in captivity.

He noted that Muctar was well-educated, articulate and able to speak several languages, including Arabic and English.

But a lawyer for Limbong said her testimony would not hurt his defense. Government prosecutors allege Limbong, also known as "Kosovo," beheaded Sobero.

"It’s only good for drama, but for purposes of establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the Burnham testimony is not enough. We have witnesses who say that he is innocent," said defense lawyer Oliver Lozano.

Lozano also denied that his client was the same person known as Kosovo, but prosecutors said "even Kosovo himself admitted his name is Alhamser Limbong."

Human rights lawyer Pura Ferrer-Calleja said Limbong was the first suspect Burnham identified.

"She said the six respondents were with the group who abducted, guided and guarded them all the while, during the period of their captivity, but she did not see them at Dos Palmas," Calleja said.

She added that her clients, Mohamadia Maja Hamja and Maulirin Mobasirin, were not implicated. But Reyes said the two suspects were identified by other witnesses.

Police Chief Inspector Bartolome Bustamante said Burnham was "poised and calm and speaking spontaneously" on the witness stand.

"She didn’t sound emotional or rattled," Bustamante said, adding she had broken down only when prosecutors presented items used by her husband during their 13-month captivity.

For Burnham, the trial also could provide closure to her 377-day nightmare.

An Army raid on June 7, 2002, left her with a gunshot wound to her thigh and killed her husband and Filipino nurse Edibora Yap in a jungle ravine near the southern coastal town of Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte. The raid ended a hostage crisis that prompted Washington to provide counterterrorism training for Philippine forces.

Other hostages were ransomed off, freed or escaped.

Burnham’s book also linked her captors to Osama bin Laden. She said that in May 2001 — four months before the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States — they told Martin Burnham to say in a ransom message that he was being held by "the Osama bin Laden group."

After the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, "there was jubilation. They were patting each other’s back," Reyes quoted Burnham as testifying.

Hearing "Star-Spangled Banner" on a Voice of America broadcast, Abu Solaiman, an Abu Sayyaf leader who remains at large, made Martin Burnham recite the line "The land of the free and the home of the brave," Burnham testified.

"Then, very proudly, Solaiman said, ‘Let’s see now how brave you Americans are,’" Reyes quoted Burnham as recounting.

A day after Burnham’s arrival in Manila, Solaiman belittled her testimony and ordeal.

"Gracia, you only lost Martin, but for us, we lost our homeland ... almost everything we have in this world," Solaiman said in a radio interview.

He said many former hostages have testified against the Abu Sayyaf, "but we are still here."

US-backed offensives dislodged the guerrillas from their jungle lairs on Basilan. Philippine officials now consider the group a spent force, down from about 1,000 guerrillas four years ago to about 300, although it has been linked to several recent terror attacks.

Gutierrez said Burnham’s testimony would boost the case against the Abu Sayyaf. Philippine authorities allege the group was set up in the early 1990s with seed funds from al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden.

"We are happy with the arrival of Mrs. Burnham," Gutierrez said. "If she agrees to stay longer, she might also want to take the opportunity to meet with some of the former hostages."

"Definitely the testimony of Gracia Burnham will strengthen our case against those Abu Sayyaf members who were involved," said military spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero.
Thanks For The Time
Meanwhile, Malacañang thanked Burnham for testifying against her abductors.

"We’d like to thank her for taking the time to come here to testify before our courts in order to prosecute" the Abu Sayyaf, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

He could not confirm if Burnham would be able to meet with President Arroyo, saying he did not know the missionary’s schedule.

"What we’re concerned (about) right now is to provide her with security so that for the rest of her stay she would be protected," Bunye said. "And we’d like to see to it that (her) visit will not entail any inconvenience on her part."

Mrs. Arroyo last met with Burnham immediately after she was rescued from her abductors.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) denied a claim by self-proclaimed police undercover agent Mary "Rosebud" Ong that Burnham was with FBI agents during a dinner Tuesday night, when FBI agent Douglas Swaggerty had a heart attack.

Ricardo Diaz, chief of the NBI’s International Police division, said Burnham has never gone to any public place since she arrived in the country last Monday.

He said Ong made a "baseless" conclusion when she saw two blonde women with NBI and FBI agents during a dinner in the VIP room of the Heritage Hotel.

"She must have mistaken either June Ellen Cvechko or Beth Saymon, both veteran FBI agents here as resource persons for the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, (for Burnham)," Diaz said.

Ong had claimed that Burnham, wearing a dark blue dress, attended to Swaggerty by massaging his feet. Diaz said Cvechko wore a dark blue dress, while Saymon wore a black dress during the dinner.

Diaz, quoting reports relayed to him by FBI agents, also said the Burnham’s eldest son, 17-year-old Jeff, is studying how to fly a plane so he could continue the missionary work of his parents.

Jeff has two other siblings — Mindy, 14, and Zach, 13.

"According to the FBI, the eldest son has made a commitment that he will continue the missionary work of his parents. He has no bad feelings towards the Philippines, where his parents were held hostage for more than a year. He apparently has strong faith in God," Diaz said. — With reports from Edu Punay, Marichu Villanueva, Cecille Suerte Felipe, AFP

---well this collusion issue is settled then :devilwink:

US backed?
what exactly have they contributed that led to the rescue of burnham?

Updated 06:04pm (Mla time) July 31, 2004
By Julie Alipala
Inquirer News Service

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines -- The main suspect in the August 2000 abduction of American Jeffrey Schilling has been captured by government security forces.

The suspect, Binang Andang, is one of the most wanted Abu Sayyaf members and has a bounty of P1 million on his head.

Commodore George Uy, commander of the Naval Forces South, said Andang was arrested during an operation by Marine soldiers and members of the Navy’s Task 62 in Tawi-Tawi on Friday evening.

Task Force 62 commander Capt. Feliciano Angue said Andang’s arrest was covered with a warrant.

Schilling, said to be a Muslim convert, was abducted in Jolo and was held for nearly eight months. He was released in April 2001.

Andang was also one of the main players in the mass abductions in Tumahubong and Sumisip, Basilan in March 2000.




http://beta.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?in...1&story_id=1447

its not exactly what it seems it is :crazy:


http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2004/a...040801top1.html

Sunday, August 01, 2004


Gracia leaves a puzzle

Controversy shrouds her testimony


The former Abu Sayyaf hostage, Gracia Burn­ham, who is back in the United States, left behind a puzzle whose solution lies in the transcript of the testimony she gave before a court in Taguig City Thursday.

The question that the American missionary had left hanging is: Did she categorically testify that there was no complicity between the military and the Abu Sayyaf that enabled the terrorist group to slip past the troops that had surrounded them in Lamitan, Basilan, in 2002?

In her book, In the Presence of my Enemies, Burnham mentioned overhearing a telephone conversation during her captivity between the slain Abu Sayyaf spokesman, Aldam Tildao, more popularly known as Abu Sabaya, and “a general” regarding the payment of ransom in exchange for the freedom of 20 tourists snatched by the bandits from the Dos Palmas Resort in Palawan in May 2001.

State prosecutors told reporters after the hearing at a special courtroom in Camp Bagong Diwa that Burnham did not have the chance to dwell on the collusion controversy, because they objected, saying it was irrelevant to the case of the eight suspected Abu Sayyaf members who were on trial. The judge sustained the objection.

The media were not allowed inside the courtroom and the reporters had to base their stories on interviews from the lawyers.

But at a press conference at the Department of Justice, the same prosecutors said that Burnham had testified she did not know of any collusion.

On Friday ABS-CBN showed on its news program TV Patrol a video of the portion of the court proceedings. The footage showed Burnham sitting in silence as defense and prosecution lawyers argued over whether to let her testify on the allegations of collusion.

At a news forum Friday Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the confusion could be cleared if the transcript of the court proceedings was made public.

Pimentel suspected that some quarters were rushing the exoneration of the military.

In a statement before flying back to the US Friday night, Burnham said she testified because “I felt it was the one thing I could do to make this country and this world a better place.”

Lt. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, who commanded the troops during the Lamitan siege, had thanked Burnham for clearing him and the other officers who had been drawn into the controversy.

The Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Narciso Abaya, also defended his officers, saying their critics should acknowledge their professionalism.

Abaya said in an interview that Burnham had cleared the military even before she took the stand Thursday.

“I think that they made the conclusion [on the alleged connivance] when they read Gracia Burnham’s book,” Abaya said.

Present at the trial in Taguig were eight alleged Abu Sayyaf members who kidnapped Gracia, her husband, Martin, and 18 other people in Dos Palmas.

Martin and a Filipino nurse, Ediborah Yap, were killed while government troops fought with the Abu Sayyaf during the rescue operation in June 2002.
-- Karl B. Kaufman

kala ko plantsado na ang isyung ito di pa pala :wacko:

mahiya nga kayo mga heneral sa military, wala naman palang sinabing ganun si gracia...husss kayo talaga mga sinungaling

Friday, August 06, 2004
Military says Abu Sayyaf chief in Tawi-Tawi
By Jun Feliciano

SOUTHERN Command has directed its troops in Tawi-Tawi to check the veracity of the reported sighting of over-all Abu Sayyaf Chieftain Kaddafy Janjalani in their area of responsibility.

According to a Southcom source, Janjalani is considered the most wanted terrorist in the country with P10 million bounty on his head.

Janjalani has reportedly slipped out of his pinpointed lair in Maguindanao, Central Mindanao, to escape from pursuing troops on a massive manhunt operation against him in the area.

Janjalani and his elite group have reportedly returned to Western Mindanao with Tawi-Tawi as his possible destination.

However, Naval Task force 62 Commander Navy Captain Feliciano Angue neither denied nor confirmed Janjalani's reported sighting in his area of responsibility.

"We are looking into this report. But I declined to give details lest it will jeopardize our operation," Angue replied.

He asked the media to tone down on Janjalani's possible whereabouts for the military's anti-terror campaign in the South to succeed.

Janjalani and 4 of his remaining top Abu Sayyaf leaders are listed in the order of battle of the Armed Forces in the Philippines and the Department of National Defense (DND) as most wanted criminals with corresponding rewards at stake to civilians who provide the right tips for their capture dead or alive.

sunstar.com

nakalusot na naman from maguindanao to tawi tawi - sana madakip na nila dun

no janjalani in custody still :rolleyes:

Mabuhay..warriors of the Republic! :snipemo:

Major assault in Philippines to get Abu Sayyaf leader

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - U.S.-backed forces have launched a major assault to capture or kill an Abu Sayyaf leader wanted by Washington, sparking clashes that killed a Philippine marine and left an undetermined number of rebels dead, officials said Tuesday.

The assaults, which began Friday in the mountain jungles of Patikul on southern Jolo island, were aimed at neutralizing Radulan Sahiron and a number of Abu Sayyaf commanders who reportedly had planned to meet there last week, apparently to plot another terror strike, military sources said.

Army Brig. Gen. Agustin Dimaala, who was helping oversee the operations, confirmed that assaults were under way against Sahiron's group, about 940 kilometers (580 miles) south of Manila.

One marine was killed and six others were injured, two while defusing a homemade bomb, officials said.

There was no indication if Sahiron, who is believed to have about 40 armed followers, had been killed in running gunbattles, officials said.

"We're optimistic,'' Dimaala told The Associated Press by telephone.

"The operations are continuing and the troops are still in the mountain.''

U.S. forces provided training and equipment to Filipino troops involved in the assaults, but were not involved in actual combat, Dimaala said, refusing to give further details.

Night-vision goggles provided by the Americans allowed Filipino troops to locate and engage a group of rebels, who have split into smaller groups, late Monday, another official said.

American help in the assaults indicates Washington's continuing desire to help the Philippines crush remnants of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf in the southern Mindanao region despite a high-profile spat in July over President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's decision to withdraw peacekeepers from Iraq to save a kidnapped Filipino.

U.S. officials are also concerned over the reported presence of secret terror training camps in Mindanao maintained by Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaida's Southeast Asian ally that has been blamed for deadly bombings and plots in the region.

Sahiron, a one-armed, horse-riding Abu Sayyaf commander based in Patikul, is on a U.S. Defence Department list of wanted terrorists.

Philippine authorities have linked him to a number of kidnappings, including the April 2000 abduction of 21 Western tourists and Asian workers from neighboring Malaysia.

Sahiron allegedly planned to meet one or more Abu Sayyaf commanders last week in Patikul, apparently to plan another terror strike, prompting the marines and army to undertake surveillance and assaults, one military officer said.

U.S.-backed assaults crippled and displaced the Abu Sayyaf's main faction on southern Basilan island two years ago, forcing surviving commanders and other guerrillas to flee to nearby Jolo and nearby regions.

Although now down to about 400 guerrillas from a peak strength of more than 1,000 men in early 2000, the Abu Sayyaf is still capable of bombings and other terror attacks, the military says. - AP

The Star.com

Related news>>>

Abu Sayyaf spiritual adviser captured (3:40 p.m.)

ZAMBOANGA -- Philippine troops have captured the "spiritual adviser" of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim kidnapping group along with two other members of the Al-Qaeda-linked band, a military spokesman said Tuesday.

Abraham Jumdaini was arrested on September 21 in the southern island of Jolo but his capture was only revealed on Tuesday after former Abu Sayyaf members identified him as the person recruited by Abu Sayyaf founder Abdurajak Janjalani, said Colonel Gominto Tirino.

An anti-terror task force captured two more Abu Sayyaf members a day later but they are still being questioned, Tirino said, declining to reveal their identities.

Jumdaini, a former imam in a Jolo town mosque, had been tasked to use religion to indoctrinate Abu Sayyaf recruits to carry out kidnappings and raids, the military said.

He was also involved in various kidnappings for ransom of Filipino Christians as well as in the abduction of 21 Western tourists and Asian hotel workers from the Sipadan resort in Malaysia in 2000, the military said.

Most of the hostages in that incident were later freed after ransom was paid.

The Abu Sayyaf has been linked by both Washington and Manila to the Al-Qaeda network of terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden. Although the government has killed and captured most of the Abu Sayyaf leadership including Janjalani, the group is still active in the southern islands of the Philippines. (AFP)

:thumb:

SunStar.com

The sacrifices of duty. May you rest in peace Marine. :armycry:

expect the SRs and LRC to be at the forefront of this major assault

sana ma neutralize na si sahiron at mga bata nya :rifle:

SWERTE NI JANJALANI..ligtas pa rin.

Mabuhay ang AFP! The Army of the Filipino People.

:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

HE CANNOT HIDE FOREVER :exactly:

Since they are tagged as terrorists, all the deadliest and fiercest units of the AFP are closing in on them! :exactly:

MAHIRAP PALA MAGING TERORISTA!!! :armycheers:

:fire:

Get them guys!

By the way, Pinoy soldiers, especially mga counter-teros at mga intel guys.

IF YOU CAN KEEP THEM RUNNING...

... IT WILL BE HARD FOR THEM TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR PLANS..such as carrying out a terror attack.

RUN THEM DOWN NOW BEFORE THEY CAN GET THAT CHANCE!


Parang basketball, best defense is offense!

:thumb: :thumb:

Posted last year but it is interesting.


http://www.intelligencer.com.ph/08-02-2003...sconfession.htm

Adept already at jungle tactics?

That's one of the reasons why we can't get them all yet.

Sabi nga ng isang SR. Grabe anting-anting, makakubli lang sa puno ....pooffff.... wala na!

how could that be when their home countries don't have any jungle? maybe its the other way around - its the local rebs who are training the foreigners...

The Arabs aren't training them for jungle warfare .... it's the other way around. WE DO! :crawling:

I mean, these local teroes do.

The Arabs nonetheless, possiblly taught them how to make bombs and provided them money and technology. :bs:

fast learners pala ang mga gunggong :drunk:

It may be that.

What really bothers soldiers much is their anting-anting.

How LTC. Buan got Sali may tell us that he has one too. :armywink:

NEWS:

http://philstar.com/philstar/News200412210401.htm

Janjalani killed in air raid?
By Jaime Laude
The Philippine Star 12/21/2004

Military authorities are trying to verify an intelligence report that the leader of the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf group has been killed in an air raid, an official said yesterday.

Col. Jerry Jalandoni, commander of the Army’s 604th Brigade, quoted one of the military’s "informants" as claiming that Khaddafy Janjalani’s "body was severed (cut in half)" last month during an air strike on a rebel hideout near the Liguasan Marsh in Mindanao.

A Malacañang official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, could not hide his glee over Janjalani’s reported death. "Sana totoo na nga (I hope that is true), but we have no proof," the official said.

On Nov. 19, Air Force MG-520 attack helicopters launched bombing raids on Butilen marsh in Datu Piang, in response to an intelligence report that the elusive Abu Sayyaf chieftain was meeting there with operatives of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group.

Quoting statements from informants, Jalandoni said Janjalani was "directly hit" during the air strike in the area, a known stronghold of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Our informant said his body was placed in a plastic (bag) and then in a wooden box. His body was reportedly brought to Barangay Pamalian in Mamasapano town," Jalandoni said.

Citing the same informant as source, Jalandoni said Janjalani’s remains were taken by at least 13 MILF rebels from the 104th and 109th Guerrilla Base Command, which operates in Central Mindanao.

Jalandoni said the military is now exerting efforts to find Janjalani’s body. There is a $5-million bounty offered by the United States and P10 million by the Philippine government for information leading to Janjalani’s capture or neutralization.

"They were supposedly having a meeting with the JI (group) involved in the Bali bombing in 2002," Jalandoni said, referring to the attack in the Indonesian island resort in October that year that killed 202 people. The Bali bombing was blamed on JI.

"Our informant said (Janjalani’s) body was put inside a plastic bag and then in a wooden box," Jalandoni said. "This is based on field reports. We have an informant. He said Janjalani is definitely dead."

Janjalani’s body is believed to have been buried in the nearby town of Mamasapano.

"We are conducting massive search in (Mamasapano), we have to produce his body… We cannot confirm his death because we do not have his body," Jalandoni said.

Despite the lack of corpus delicti, Jalandoni said reports indicated that Janjalani was in Butilen marsh during the air strike. "It is definite that group of Janjalani was in the area when we conducted the air strike," he said.

The US last week added Janjalani’s name to a list of militants whose finances are blocked under US anti-terrorist laws, calling him a "despicable terrorist, responsible for the kidnappings and beheadings of American civilians and other innocents."

The US State Department labeled the Abu Sayyaf a foreign terrorist organization in 2002 for its role in bombings and kidnappings in the Philippines and for its suspected links with al-Qaeda.

Janjalani is the younger brother of slain Abu Sayyaf chieftain Abdurajak Janjalani and he is suspected of masterminding the 2001 kidnappings of tourists and workers, including three Americans, from a Philippine beach resort. One of the Americans was beheaded shortly afterwards. American missionary Martin Burnham and Filipina nurse Edibora Yap were killed a year later during a rescue operation by the military.

Janjalani’s group claimed responsibility for planting a bomb that sank the SuperFerry 14 in Manila Bay last Feb. 27, killing over 100 people. The government at first played down the claim but said in October that the Abu Sayyaf carried out the attack.

"(The MILF) should cooperate with us, help us in the campaign against criminals and JI," Jalandoni said. "We have a joint communiqué on this."

Jalandoni also said his statement should not be misconstrued as one seeking to derail the ongoing peace negotiations with the MILF as he cited the joint communiqué agreed upon by the government and MILF to work hand in hand in the campaign against terrorists.

He said that when the air strike was completed, he should have sent ground forces to the area but abandoned the idea because it might spark fighting with MILF rebels in the area.

"We want to clarify that we do not want to destroy the peace process. That is why we did not push through with the ground operations. We were ready for the ground operations but we did not push through," Jalandoni said. — With reports from Marichu Villanueva, AFP

is this not always coincidence? when that other abu sayaf commander was killed there was no body and now this commander also no body found... :armyeek:

:urpointis:

!!!

3 Sayyaf leaders arrested
By Roel Pareño
The Philippine Star 12/26/2004

ZAMBOANGA CITY — An anti-terror unit of Marines and Navy elements captured three local leaders of the Abu Sayyaf in a two-day operation in Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi to search for Khadaffy Janjalani, who is reported to be hiding in the area.

The fall of the suspected terrorists last Friday came as Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza gave orders to verify the reported death of the Abu Sayyaf chieftain and hunt down remnants of the Muslim extremist group, Capt. Rommel Abrao, Marine information officer, said yesterday.

Janjalani was reportedly killed in a military air raid in Datu Piang, Maguindanao supposedly while meeting with members of the al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) last month.

His death has yet to be confirmed. Sightings of Janjalani in Tawi-Tawi, 300 kilometers south of here, bolstered speculations that he staged his own death to deceive military agents hot on his trail.

"The intelligence reports alleged that high-ranking Abu Sayyaf leaders were hiding in the municipality of Sitangkai, further alleging that their leader Janjalani was also in the area," Abrao said.

He said the operation by the anti-terror unit of Task Force 62 was a result of an intelligence buildup after a rebel returnee informed the military of the elusive Janjalani’s clandestine meeting with JI elements.

Abrao added that high-powered assault weapons were also confiscated from the arrested Abu Sayyaf members, who were identified as Halimao Hadjiula, 42; Duran Amsajid, 61, both from Siet, Panamao in Jolo, Sulu; and Said Abdulrhiman, 47, from Sitangkai. They were undergoing interrogation at the Marines headquarters in the island-province until yesterday.

The raiding Marine unit under Lt. Col. Elvin Velasco and the Navy Special Warfare Group seized from the suspects four M16s, one M14 rifle, two caliber .45 automatics, a .38 caliber revolver with assorted ammunition. Various uniforms, icom handheld radios, suspenders, pouches and other paraphernalia were also recovered.

The raiding team launched the operation last Thursday that lasted Friday, covering the areas of Siantok Panamao and Siantok Talipao, both in Sitangkai.

While the Marines and Navy elements made a house-to-house search for Janjalani, two Navy gunboats, PG 390 and PCF 333 from the Naval Task Force 62, conducted sea-blockade operations at entry and exit points of suspected terrorists, Abrao said.

Earlier, Army authorities in Central Mindanao claimed to have received unconfirmed reports of Janjalani’s death in the Nov. 19 air raid at Butelin marsh in Datu Piang.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Efren Abu said the military leadership was informed of Janjalani’s death but stressed the reports have to be verified first.

"For as long as we don’t recover his (Janjalani’s) body, we consider him still alive," Abu told reporters recently.

For his part, Braganza said the many sightings of Janjalani could just be a ploy to shake off government forces.

Braganza claimed even Janjalani is no longer at ease with his own men and relatives, fearing betrayal in exchange for the huge reward for his capture, dead or alive.

Janjalani has a $1-million bounty on his head out of the $5 million being offered by the United States for the "neutralizing" of five key leaders of the Abu Sayyaf.

The government also has allotted P10 million reward for Janjalani’s capture or death. — With Jaime Laude


=========

Navy's elites are getting busy! :thumb: :thumb:

Yea, Force Recon and SWAG - these guys rock.

Escaped Abu bandit recaptured in Zamboanga
Updated 11:43am (Mla time) Jan 06, 2005
By Julie Alipala
Inquirer News Service


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ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines -- A convicted Abu Sayyaf member, who bolted the Basilan provincial jail in April 2004, was recaptured in Sacol Island here around 6 a.m. Thursday, authorities said.
Ricardo Cabaron, Western Mindanao deputy prosecutor, said intelligence agents and soldiers from the Air Force collared Toting Craft Hano.

Hano is facing three death sentences for the raid on Dos Palmas, where the Abu Sayyaf snatched more than a dozen people, including American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham and another American, Guillermo Sobero.

Sobero was beheaded in June 2001 while Martin Burnham died during a botched military rescue operation.

http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?in...&story_id=23417

http://philstar.com/philstar/News200501070403.htm

Abu man: I snatched Gracia Burnham
By Roel Pareño
The Philippine Star 01/07/2005

ZAMBOANGA CITY — A captured Abu Sayyaf terrorist with a $25,000 reward on his head has confessed to taking part in the kidnapping of Americans Martin and Gracia Burnham and Guillermo Sobero, along with several Filipinos from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan three years ago.

The reward was offered by the US government.

At a press conference at Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) headquarters here, Toting Craft Hanno, alias Abu Jacarias, told Southcom chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza that he was one of the Abu Sayyaf bandits who barged into the cottage of the Burnhams at dawn of May 27, 2001 and dragged them out.

"I was the one who took Gracia Burnham," he said in Filipino. "I barged into the cottage with four of my companions."

Hanno, who was handcuffed during the press conference, said he and 27 other Abu Sayyaf kidnappers had raided the resort and surprised the American and Filipino tourists in their cottages.

Some of the Abu Sayyaf bandits who had participated in the Dos Palmas raid have already sneaked out of the country, Hanno added.

Hanno was collared at around 6:45 a.m. yesterday during a raid by military intelligence agents in Barangay Landang Gua on Sacol island off Zamboanga peninsula.

Hanno had previously been captured during a military crackdown in Basilan on May 2002, but escaped from the Basilan provincial jail during a mass jailbreak on Black Saturday last year.

Hanno was among 17 Abu Sayyaf bandits who were each meted out three life terms by the Basilan regional trial court in August last year.

The military said Hanno was part of an Abu Sayyaf band that raided the Dr. Jose Torres Hospital in Lamitan, Basilan island in June 2001 during which dozens of people were kidnapped and some were later beheaded.

"He is tagged to be involved in the kidnapping in Lamitan during the seige at Dr. Jose Torres Hospital last June 2, 2001," Braganza said. "Hanno is in the US reward list with a $25,000,00 bounty."

Martin Burnham was killed along with Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap during a military recue operation in the jungles of Zamboanga del Norte in 2003, but his wife, Gracia was rescued and later flews home to the US.

Sobero was beheded in the jungles of Basilan during the first months of the kidnapping in 2001.

Hanno’s arrest came just hours before US Embassy deputy chief of mission Joseph Mussomeli arrived in Zamboanga City to inspect projects funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), he added.

Braganza said Hanno, who has been taken to Edwin Andrews Air Base here for interrogation, was spotted by a civilian informant last Dec. 26.

"Apparently, he was lying low and confident he would not be arrested there," he said.

Anti-terror agents did not find Hanno until he was arrested yesterday morning, he added.

Braganza said Hanno will still be charged in court despite his help in tracking down the whereabouts of other Abu Sayyaf kidnappers.

"He has to face the bar of justice regardless of what favor he will do for us for the neutralization of the others," he said.

When Hanno was presented to reporters yesterday, unidentified US officials were present to verify his identity, but the Americans did not give any statement.

The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for a series of kidnappings and bombings in Mindanao in recent years.

Since 2000, they have kidnapped and ransomed dozens of foreign hostages.

They also claimed responsibility for last February’s bombing of the SuperFerry 14 that killed over 100 passengers in Manila Bay off Corregidor.

It has been linked by the Philippine and US governments to the Al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden.

Meanwhile, Braganza said military intelligence is verifying the reported death of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafi Janjalani.

"We have not absolutely confirmed his death," he said.

The military is also checking reports that Janjalani has been going around under the name "Commander Umbok," Braganza said.

In another development, a Malaysian military official said two Malaysians and an Indonesian seaman kidnapped off Sabah on April 11 last year have either been killed or have died of illness in Mindanao over the past two or three weeks.

Gen. Mohamed Shahrin Abdul Majib, commander of Malaysia’s 5th Brigade, was quoted by Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama as saying: "These three have been confirmed dead by December."

Shahrin did not elaborate, but said Malaysia was seeking the help of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to search for the bodies of Malaysians Toh Chiu Thong, 48, and Wong Siu Ung, 52; and

Indonesian Walter Sampel, 53.

Last November, Philippine authorities recovered skeletal remains feared to be those of the men, but forensic examination showed they were not, Shahrin said. — With AFP

Lalo talagang lumalabas ang baho nang mga terorista na ito...tsk, tsk.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200501099907.htm

Seized lumber belongs to Sayyaf
By Ramil Bajo
The Philippine Star 01/09/2005

PALIMBANG, Sultan Kudarat — Illegally cut lawaan lumber, totaling 4,962 board feet and believed owned by the extremist Abu Sayyaf, was seized in two hinterland barangays here last Thursday night.

Madid Sabdullah, community environment and natural resources officer, said the "hot" lumber was seized in the jungles of Barangays Barongis and Wal based on a tip to forest rangers and the Palimbang police.

The Region 12 office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has tagged this town as an illegal logging hot spot because of rampant timber poaching.

Palimbang Mayor Labualas Mamansual said the Abu Sayyaf owned the seized lumber, adding that the extremist group has been engaged in "carabao logging" in 14 barangays, including Wal and Barongis.

Mamansual identified the 12 other barangays as Tipungid, Napnapan, Tibolol, Mina, Damolol, Wasag, Midol, Langale, Bambanan, Batang Bagras, Isat and Namad.

He suspects the Abu Sayyaf still keeps more "hot" logs in the jungles of these villages. "I hope the military would drive them away from Palimbang so our town would be peaceful and illegal logging would stop," he said in Tagalog.

Nasan na ang mga Special Operations troops natin?

These bandits are not just killing people, they are also damaging what's left of our heavilly-abused forests.

Why does it seem like these bandits are enjoying so much freedom in doing these things?

:gatling: Kakainis na yan ah!

Parang walang tropa sa paligid! :bs:

Janjalani, Soliman, Hapilon suspected of being in militant base
01/27 4:38:25 PM

COTABATO (AFP) - Government helicopter gunships and planes Thursday attacked a suspected meeting between leaders of the Al-Qaeda affiliated Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah militant groups, the military said.

Among those suspected of being in the area attacked in the southern Philippines were the senior leaders of the Abu Sayyaf and a certain Dulmatin, an Indonesian alleged to have been behind the deadly Bali bombings in 2002.

The strikes were based on intelligence reports that the Abu Sayyaf was meeting with Indonesian members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network along with renegade members of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who had broken a ceasefire with the government to attack an army outpost.

Among the Abu Sayyaf leaders reportedly in the area were its chief Khadaffy Janjalani and senior members Abu Soliman and Isnilon Hapilon said Lieutenant General Alberto Braganza, military chief of the southern island of Mindanao.

Regional military spokesman Colonel Franklin Del Prado said the targets were in a group of houses scattered in a forested, marshy area on the outskirts of Datu Piang and Saudi Ampatuan towns.

Braganza said that among the JI members reported to be in the area was Dulmatin, "who figured in the Bali bombing."

Del Prado said Dulmatin was accompanied by two other Indonesians identified as Maruan and Mauyha, supposedly members of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional Islamic militant network.

However the officials would not say how Dulmatin entered the Philippines or what he and the others were doing in the country.

The Abu Sayyaf and JI members were meeting members of an MILF faction that overran a military outpost in the southern town of Mamasapano on January 10, leaving about 21 soldiers and rebels dead, Braganza said.

The two MILF commanders Abdul Rahman Binago and Abdul Wahid Tundok led their men in attacking the army outpost without the sanction of the front's leadership but the rebels have refused to turn the two commanders over.

Braganza said MG 520 helicopter gunships and OV-10 attack planes, backed by artillery, were used because ground forces had difficulty entering the marshy area.

Some of the helicopters were hit by rebel machinegun fire but returned to base safely, a military report said.

Troops were assessing the effect of the strikes, del Prado said.

Janjalani heads the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group known mainly for kidnapping and bombing attacks against Christians and foreigners in the Philippines for over a decade.

It has been linked by both Washington and Manila to the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

The Jemaah Islamiyah, considered to be the Southeast Asian chapter of the Al-Qaeda terror network, has been blamed for the 2002 bombing in Bali, in which more than 200 people were killed.

Last November, the military launched an air strike near Datu Piang town against a suspected meeting between Janjalani and JI members but there was no confirmation of any casualties in that incident.

Government security forces have charged that the JI has members in Mindanao who are sheltered by commanders of the 12,000-strong MILF, which has denied the allegation.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied its forces were in the marshy area hit by the government. He said the front did not know if the two renegade commanders Tundok and Binago, were there.

=====================================================

So, he really is still alive! :bs:

Baby’s cry allows Abu men to escape

The Philippine Star 02/07/2005

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Soldiers in a shootout with suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels eased their firing when they heard a baby’s cry coming from the militants’ hideout, and the lull allowed most of the insurgents to escape, military officials said yesterday.

Marines and Navy intelligence agents were approaching the suspected Abu Sayyaf hideout on Sacol Island off this southern port city last Saturday when about 20 suspected rebels opened fire, setting off the clash, Marine spokesman Capt. Rommel Abrau said.

The soldiers eased firing when they heard a baby cry in the hideout, allowing all but one wounded militant to escape, a Navy officer involved in the clash said.

The baby, possibly of one of the militants, was recovered unhurt by the soldiers, said the officer, who asked not to be named.

The wounded rebel was captured and his M-16 rifle seized. Some of the other rebels may also have been wounded because of bloodstains found in their escape route, Abrau said in a statement. — Roel Pareño

=====================================================


Dont worry guys.

Saving the baby is much more of the achievement in killing all those who escaped.

There's still another day for hunting them down anyway.

:exactly:

In fact, you might have won the baby's mother's heart.

And that could lead to something far greater than getting those who got away.
:armywink:

This even made me my 1000th post!

:armycheers:

What do you all think about the last sentence in this article, are the Abu's involved?

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200502090402.htm

Sulu revolt death toll climbs to 60
By Roel Pareño
The Philippine Star 02/09/2005

ZAMBOANGA CITY — Fighting raged for the second day yesterday in Sulu with casualties expected to increase to more than 60 as armed supporters of jailed rebel leader Nur Misuari battled government forces.

Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza said troops have reported more than 30 rebels killed and a number of them wounded as the fighting continued a second day in Panamao town.

The military said 19 soldiers have been killed since Monday as two MG-520 helicopter gunships were deployed to augment troops in the area. Initial reports said 21 soldiers had been wounded in the clashes.

Reports identified two of the soldiers killed as Sgts. Ruel Petilune and Carlos Valderama.

The military said 13 soldiers were killed in an ambush in Patikul on Monday while another was slain during fighting in Panamao town.

The same day, two Muslim soldiers who were rebuilding a mosque as part of a civic project were killed in an attack in Parang, Brig. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala said.

Dema-ala, commander of Task Force Comet going after the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo, said there were also reports of rebel casualties.

The fighting started when at least 400 Misuari supporters attacked several military detachments near Panamao, where Abu Sayyaf bandits have allegedly sought refuge.

Armed Misuari supporters either encircled or occupied an Army company detachment in Barangay Siit in Panamao and seized a nearby hospital, which has since been retaken by troops, military officials said.

Dema-ala claimed the Misuari supporters were forced to occupy the hospital to give first aid to their wounded comrades. He added the rebels sustained an undetermined number of casualties.

"It was also monitored that one of their two leaders was among those wounded inside the hospital," he said.

Dema-ala identified the leaders of the attacking rebels as Ustadz Bashir and Ustadz Habir.

Dema-ala said Misuari supporters apparently thought they were being targeted as part of a massive military operation launched last week against the Abu Sayyaf.

Military officials said they believe the Misuari faction has received help from the Abu Sayyaf.

Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza said Misuari supporters are now using the clashes to pressure the government into transferring their jailed leader to a detention center in Jolo.

"They want him to be tried there," Braganza said.

Misuari was formerly the chief of the separatist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which signed a peace treaty with the government in September 1996. He later became governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), until he was dislodged in November 2001.

Misuari was later arrested and detained at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna after leading a failed revolt in Zamboanga City to protest his sacking in 2001.

Many of his armed followers still maintain a stronghold in Jolo. They have been accused of supporting the Abu Sayyaf, a group linked by the Philippine and US governments to the al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden.

Braganza said fighting has not escalated in Sulu, saying the situation is contained within certain areas.

"It has not escalated. The center of action is now in the vicinity in Barangay Siit, Panamao. That’s why I ordered a bombing operation (yesterday) morning... We will continue this operational activity if necessary," he said.

Braganza dismissed reports that the military initiated the fighting after troops reportedly barged into the house of a family of Misuari supporters and killed them while pursuing Abu Sayyaf bandits.

"That’s the claim, (but) there is no truth to that. It is the offshoot of our operation against the Abu Sayyaf," he said.

Braganza said they will not negotiate with Misuari supporters to cease the conflict.

"We will continue the offensive operation. If they will ask for (a ceasefire), we will give it. But at the moment we will continue the punitive action," Braganza said.

Dema-ala, on the other hand, urged Misuari’s followers to stop the attacks, stressing they are not the target of military offensives in the province.

Military officials said they are now coordinating with ranking political leaders in the province and enlisting the help of the mainstream Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to "contain" fighting in the area.

"We are trying to contain the situation here by coordinating with the ranking political leaders and mainstream MILF group leaders," Braganza said.

"We are ready militarily, we will continue with our operations," Dema-ala added.

Jolo Gov. Ben Loon, for his part, said he was flying from Manila to his province to help negotiate a halt to the fighting.

Braganza added crisis teams from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the military have been deployed to assist civilians displaced by the clashes.

Western Mindanao police chief Director Vidal Querol said police have been directed to secure government offices, including the Zamboanga City Hall, "to prevent a possible spillover and deter rebels from attacking the establishments and taking hostages from there."

Misuari had led his followers in taking over 100 people, including children, hostage in Zamboanga City in November 2001 before managing to escape.

The erstwhile MNLF chairman was captured in Malaysia a year later and repatriated to Manila to face charges of rebellion.

Querol said alert levels have been raised in the areas as part of security operations. "We will see to it that the government offices and the citizenry are protected, so that there will be no spillover," he said.

Malacañang warned yesterday followers of Misuari that their rash action would not force government’s hand to transfer his place of detention.

"If they do that, the more it will not happen if they pursue that means to achieve their goal. Our request to them is if they want to help their countrymen in Sulu, the only way to do this is to have peace in that area," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

Bunye added that the ongoing clashes in Sulu would not affect the ongoing peace efforts with the MILF.

Lawmakers, for their part, called on the police and military to arrest Misuari supporters launching the attacks.

Leyte Rep. Eduardo Veloso and Davao del Sur Rep. Douglas Cagas said Misuari’s loyalists should be considered terrorists for initiating the attacks.

Cagas claimed Misuari followers have definitely received help from the Abu Sayyaf. "The (Misuari) faction can now be considered as terrorists because of their alliance with the Abu Sayyaf, which is on the international terror list," he said. — With Christina Mendez, Marichu Villanueva, AFP

What happened to MIL INTEL, not a whiff on this attacks - seemes the military was caught off-guard on this. :armyneutral:

What has been the case here, ever since, is the seemingly weak strike and reaction capability of our Air Force bombers and attack choppers.

The Moslem rebels are getting this bold because they do well know that they can still reckon with the AFP's ground forces.

In fact, in most planned or deliberate attacks, the already outnumbered soldiers are usually pummeled with RPG and mortar shellings to weaken their defenses and outmaneuver them.

They know that they can still wreak great havoc to the military by resorting to ambuscades and attacking outnumbered troops.

Time factor plays a vital role in the rebel's aggression.

They can capitalize on outnumbering the soldiers or the low response time of reinforcements, both air and ground forces.

They know that reinforcement wont come that fast, that's why they still dare to repeat this same type of attacks again and again.

If PGMA wants to ensure the realization of an economic turnaround, she must first support the AFP, which is the only one that can guarantee that goal.

The AFP needs more attack choppers and better bombers to serve not just as reinforcements or support to the ground troops but as a deterence to the rebels aggressiveness also.

Any conflict of this magnitude will surely undermine her effort to uplift the economy.

That is why she must do all she can to enhance the capability of our Armed Forces.

The military needs a more capable and paralyzing air strike capability.

We mustn't forget the acquisition of better-protected armored personnel carriers and tanks as well.

End of the road for Kumander ROBOT, KOSOVO and GLOBAL.


=====================================================

http://news.inq7.net/top/index.php?index=1&story_id=30595

Police retake prison camp; inmates’ death toll up

Posted 09:02am (Mla time) Mar 15, 2005
By Joel Francis Guinto
INQ7.net



(8th UPDATE) Twenty-two prisoners including three top leaders of the militant Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group were killed when police stormed a maximum security jail to end a day-old prison revolt, officials said Tuesday.
Manila police chief Avelino Razon named three of the fatalities as Galib Andang, alias Commander Robot, Alhamser Limbong, alias Commander Kosovo believed to be the ringleader of the revolt, and Nadjmi Sabdulla, alias Commander Global.
The group's appointed spokesman, a certain “Ka Lando,” was also killed, Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes said in a separate interview earlier on Tuesday.

It is not clear however whether “Ka Lando” is an Abu Sayyaf member.

The 18 others were unidentified, Razon said, adding that police recovered eight handguns and two unexploded grenades from the rioters.

Six policemen were wounded, he added.

He said the authorities were still clearing the Camp Bagong Diwa jail. Gunshots were heard around midday, an hour after the assault was completed, when police flushed out an Abu Sayyaf suspect from a prison toilet, Razon said.

Aside from the 21 dead prisoners, three prison guards and two Abu Sayyaf members were killed on Monday when the prisoners overpowered the guards and began the revolt.

“By and large, the crisis is over,” Reyes told reporters on the scene.

A girl was treated for tear gas inhalation, an Agence France-Presse report said.

Reyes said once the tear gas cleared he would allow journalists into the building holding 471 prisoners, a third of them Abu Sayyaf suspects.

Despite the number of those killed, Reyes said casualties had been kept to a minimum.

"I hope this delivers a strong message that anybody who tries to do something like this in the future will be dealt with in the same fashion. They tried to escape. They killed three of our guards and wounded two others," Reyes said.

Asked why force was used when only three were armed, Reyes said, "There will be a thorough investigation" into the whole incident.

Reyes said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo congratulated the police although she lamented that there were casualties.

“We thank God it’s over,” Arroyo Spokesman and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a separate statement from Malacañang.

"The terrorists got what was coming to them," Bunye said, adding that the crisis team that government formed to handle the situation gave them chance to surrender peacefully. "We needed to end this crisis."

"We congratulate our crisis management team, as well as our brave men who risked life and limb, to see to it that order is restored," he told reporters in Malacañang after the signing of the 2005 budget.

“They are armed and they fired at us. It is our duty to protect our troops,” Reyes said of the assault that members of the police Special Action Force (SAF) launched at about 9 a.m. after negotiations with the prisoners bogged down.

About 300 SAF troops wearing gas masks and helmets stormed the four-story building, retaking it cell by cell and floor by floor, the same Agence France-Presse report said.

Police used water hoses on nearby facilities so that occupants would not be affected by tear gas.

Two helicopters were also seen hovering above the compound.

Minutes before the assault, government negotiator Parouk Hussin announced the failure of the negotiations.

The attack order came as the prison standoff entered its second day.

Abu Sayyaf prisoners seized the second story of the building early Monday, killing three prison guards to support calls for better prison conditions and a speedier trial. But the government said the revolt was part of a failed escape attempt.

Negotiations for a peaceful surrender fell through after the rebels refused to turnover the three .45-caliber pistols they seized from the jail guards.

The prison uprising brought an end to a brief but fiery career of Andang, a former separatist Muslim guerrilla in his late 30s who allegedly led an Abu Sayyaf kidnapping raid of the Malaysian resort of Sipadan in April 2000.

The group seized 21 Western tourists and Asian resort workers, shipping them across the sea border to the island of Jolo where they were held for several months before they were eventually ransomed off for millions of dollars, according to the local military.

Andang lost his right leg in a clash with the security forces who captured him in Jolo in December 2001.

Limbong was on trial for the firebombing of a passenger ferry on Manila Bay last year that claimed more than 100 lives -- the country's worst militant attack -- as well as the kidnapping of several tourists on a resort island in the western Philippines in May 2001.

Two of the three American captives were killed while in captivity including one, California tourist Guillermo Sobero, who was allegedly beheaded by Limbong.

US-trained Filipino forces on Mindanao Island rescued a third American hostage, Christian missionary Gracia Burnham, in June 2002.

Washington has offered one million dollars for the capture of the top five leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, which it considers a "foreign terrorist organization."

With reports from Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, INQ7.net; Agence France-Presse