1 soldier killed, 26 injured in Basilan mine attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- At least one soldier died while 26 others were wounded when they hit Abu Sayyaf-planted landmines on Tuesday morning in the province of Basilan.

Colonel Ricardo R. Visaya of the 104th Infantry Brigade told BusinessWorld five members of a Scout Rangers unit are in critical condition after they stepped on landmines on a forested area in the town of Sumisip.

“The troops were conducting combat reconnaissance patrol when the landmine attacks occurred,” he said, noting the area is roughly 800 meters from the main camp of the bandits that government troopers have earlier overrun. He said troops were dispatched to recover the victims and assist the wounded.

“The weather is a bit cloudy. Two helicopters are now in the area for casualty evacuation,” he said. Lieutenant Colonel Randolph G. Cabangbang, spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), said the exact location of the attack was in ridges of Abong-abong peak at Sitio Pansol in the village of Baywas, which is believed to be the stronghold of the bandit.

WestMinCom commander Major General Noel A. Coballes said soldiers were clearing the area when the land mines went off. “The ASG (Abu-Sayyaf Group) designed the area to be impenetrable. While our current priority is to our wounded soldiers, efforts to clear the area of ASG along with their landmines and IED (improvised explosive devices) will continue,” he said.

The attack follows a string of encounters and harassments staged by the bandits. Last week, armed men attacked a rubber plantation in the same town killing three security guards, and wounding seven rubber farmers. Pursuing troops were able to neutralize one bandit.

Military officials said the Abu-Sayyaf, which begun in 1990s, have been into kidnapping and extortion to fund their activities after finances from international terror network groups were cut off. At present, the Abu-Sayaf is holding nine captives: an Australian, a Japanese, two Malaysians, an Indian, a Dutch, a Swiss national, a town mayor, and a Chinese-Filipino businessman.

The al-Qaeda linked Abu-Sayyaf has emerged in this province in the early 1990's and went into full-scale terrorism in early 2000 where kidnapped foreign tourists and launched several bombing attacks in the country’s major cities.

Although, most of its top leaders were neutralized, the bandits are still capable of launching deadly attacks, the military said. The decades-long counter terrorism battle has been supported by a number of American soldiers based in western Mindanao.

Early this year, soldiers killed a long-time wanted Abu Sayyaf commander Umbra Jumdailm, also known as Dr. Abu, in a jungle hideout in the island province of Sulu. Military said the air strike also killed Jemaah Islamiyah terror network suspect Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan.” Singaporean militant Abdullah Ali was also killed along with 12 other armed men during the strike. -- Darwin T. Wee
Source http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=1-soldier-killed,-26-injured-in-Basilan-mine-attack&id=49915