“By our assessment, we had a successful two months," said Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos, a military spokesman. “This has sincerely degraded their capability to launch terroristic attacks against government installations, against government forces."
The deadline was set by Armed Forces chief Gen. Delfin Bangit when he visited Basilan, a known hotbed of Abu Sayyaf activities, last March 15.
Burgos said the 30 included the Abu Sayyaf members killed and captured last Saturday when elite Scout Rangers raided a bandit lair in Gihong village in Sumisip town. An Abu Sayyaf member was killed while 14 others were captured in that operation.
Seized during the raid were six M16 rifles, an M203 grenade launcher, a Garand rifle, a grenade, a blasting cap, a 60 mm mortar shell, Icom radios, camouflage uniforms and combat boots.
Burgos said the raid last Saturday was a “very big blow" to the Abu Sayyaf.
“That wrapped up our two months of relentless operations against the [Abu Sayyaf] …This is really a big blow to [them] …because we neutralized 15 of them," he said.
Burgos said military commanders would conduct an assessment whether or not there is a need to reduce or add more forces in Basilan.
At present, there are about 3,000 troops currently stationed in the province. - KBK
Abu Sayyaf: target of Philippine-U.S. anti-terrorism cooperation.: An article from: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs
The civilian side of the war on terror.: An article from: Policy Review
Maritime terrorism: focusing on the probable.: An article from: Naval War College Review
Philippine public voices strong support for security ties with U.S: In pre-9/11 survey, public divided on accepting foreign assistance to counter Abu Sayyaf (Opinion brief)
Abu Sulaiman: Extremist, Terrorist, Abu Sayyaf, Palawan, Gesellschaftsordnung, Politische Linke, Politisches Spektrum (German Edition)
The Final Option : A Riveting Account of the Bloodiest Jailbreak Attempt By the Abu Sayyaf in a High-risk Detention Center At Camp Bagong Diwa (Philippines)
