MANILA: Two main camps of the Abu Sayyaf group were overrun by forces of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in its latest offensive in Patikul, Sulu yesterday.
MNLF commander Ustadz Habier Malik said his forces were able to overrun two camps of the Abu Sayyaf but were not able to recover the Jordanian journalist taken hostage by the bandit group.
Malik said the MNLF fighters overran Kuta Masarin camp under Abu Sayyaf leader Habib Hajan Sawajaan and the second camp fell on the fourth day of their offensive against the bandit group believed to be holding Jordanian Baker Abdulla Atyani.
“We have occupied their stronghold,” Malik said. “But we were not able to find Atyani or anyone from the group holding him hostage.”
Malik said they have no idea on the whereabouts of Atyani.
“There were reports that he was allowed to go home to Jordan, but these are speculations,” he said.
There were reports circulating in Sulu that a day before the encounter last Sunday, a speedboat with six gunmen on board landed on a beach in Sitio Parang-Parang in Barangay Maglibak, Patikul.
Sources said the gunmen handed over bags believed to be loaded with cash to another group and left with a foreigner.
It was not clear, according to the source, if the foreigner was Atyani.
Malik said they would not speculate on the information.
The military also said they have not received any information that Atyani had been released.
“We have not seen reports that he (Atyani) has been freed,” Colonel Orlando de Leon, commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade based in Sulu.
De Leon, however, was evasive when asked whether Atyani was still with the Abu Sayyaf.
“When it comes to the kidnap victims, the primary unit involved in the tracking is the anti-kidnapping group so they are in the position to give you the data,” he said.
Asked to confirm reports that a 100m pesos ransom was paid to secure Atyani’s freedom, De Leon said: “I do not have any way to know whether the 100m pesos was paid.”
Malik, on the other hand, said the Abu Sayyaf suffered 18 fatalities with three others severely wounded from their attack, bringing the total Abu Sayyaf casualties to 21.
“The confirmation came from the Abu Sayyaf themselves,” he said.
Malik said the fighting ceased as the Abu Sayyaf have split into smaller groups to escape.
Malik said his forces are now monitoring the whereabouts of the Abu Sayyaf gunmen who figured in the encounter.
Malik also asked his leaders to coordinate with the relatives of slain Abu Sayyaf members and explain the circumstances of their operation.
“We will explain it to them why this happened. We will discuss with them why we have to stop their illegal activities,” he said.
Malik appealed to the relatives and families of the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu not to condone their criminal activity.
Malik also clarified the offensive was not to occupy the camps of the Abu Sayyaf but to negotiate with them to convince them stop their kidnapping activity.
The Philippine Star
