AFTER five months of operations, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) declared Sunday it is slowing down its campaign against suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf group (ASG) in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat and would instead focus on dismantling a local kidnap gang. Brig. Gen. Alexander Yano, commander of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, said they would launch an operation against the Abu Sufian gang, a group of local criminals who figured in the abduction of a Korean national and a hotelier in General Santos last year.
Is this the same as the Pentagon Gang or a different group of banditos?
He said they have monitored that members of the kidnap gang have reportedly started to regroup in the area. "The group has already been conducting some activities so it is important for us to neutralize them now," Yano said. Yano said the Abu Sufian gang was the group which primarily helped about 50 members of the Abu Sayyaf, led by Khadaffy Janjalani, to settle in the area after arriving in the coastal village of Libua, Palimbang last July 5. Palimbang Mayor Labualas Mamansual said the Abu Sufian gang has reduced to at least 13 to 15 active members after some of them surrendered to authorities more than a year ago. Mamansual, who had led negotiations for the release of Korean kidnap victim Jae Keon Yoon and hotelier Carlos Belonio, said the group also suffered from arrests and the killing of leaders during several encounters with government forces over the last few months. Among its prominent members, who were earlier arrested, were brothers Edris and Ismael Binago. An elder brother of the two suspects, Dido Binago, and cousin Alo Binago have been tagged as the over-all leaders of the kidnap gang.
| Yep. That's what I'd call a family business... |
Yano claimed that the presence of the ASG in the area has been "heavily reduced" due to their continuing operations. He added they would continue operations against the ASG until the group is totally decimated.
| "Decimated" means one in ten dead. I think he means wiped out, but in the Philippines you can never be quite sure... |
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