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Southeast Asia
Abu Sayyaf leader still evading Filippino troops
2004-11-08
Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani remains slippery as ever after escaping a military dragnet in Sultan Kudarat last month and sneaking back to Basilan, a military official said yesterday. Janjalani has been spotted in Barangay Tabuk, Isabela City in Basilan — the Muslim extremist group's traditional stronghold — where he reportedly paid his parents and relatives a visit late last month, said an Armed Forces official based at the Southern Command (Southcom) in Zamboanga City who asked not to be identified. Apart from Janjalani, Isnilon Hapilon, a sub-leader of the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf, was also sighted in the same area, which is now the focus of operations of Southcom personnel.

Newly installed Southcom chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza has assured the Armed Forces leadership under Lt. Gen. Efren Abu that they will do their best to capture Janjalani, who has successfully eluded his pursuers since his group launched high-profile kidnappings in 2001. Authorities have accounted for other top commanders of the Abu Sayyaf including its spokesman Aldam Tilao, alias Abu Sabaya, and Sulu-based leader Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot. Sabaya was killed in an encounter with military forces in June 2002 while Andang was captured in December last year and now languishes in jail as he faces various kidnapping charges before the courts. Hamsiraji Sali, one of Janjalani's top aides, was killed last April in a firefight with the military. Alhamser Manatad Limbong, alias Commander Kosovo, tagged as the one who beheaded American hostage Guillermo Sobero during the 2001 hostage crisis, was arrested with other Abu Sayyaf members last March.
Posted by:Dan Darling

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