Posted on 02/23/2003 7:45:03 AM PST by Indy Pendance
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) -- A top commander of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf reportedly died Wednesday from wounds suffered during a government assault on his hideout a day earlier, a military commander said.
Mujib Susukan, whose capture or death carried a $92,500 bounty, was shot under the right armpit and in the right leg in a clash outside Talipao town on Jolo island Tuesday, Jolo army commander Col. Alexander Aleo said. Susukan was the leader of one of several Abu Sayyaf factions operating the Philippines.
He said other guerrillas and villagers carried Susukan into the jungle. Intelligence sources and villagers reported he died Wednesday and was buried in a shallow grave in the village of Bandang in Talipao. Aleo ordered a search for the body.
Four Abu Sayyaf gunmen and one soldier also were killed in Tuesday's fighting between government troops and about 50 guerrillas, Aleo said.
On Wednesday, seven guerrillas and three soldiers were killed and seven soldiers wounded in fierce fighting between government troops and 70 gunmen in the jungle outside Patikul town near Talipao, raising the death toll in two days of fighting to 15.
The Abu Sayyaf, notorious for kidnappings and killings, has been loosely linked to the al-Qaida terror network and is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations.
Susukan was one of the leaders of an Abu Sayyaf band that raided the Malaysian resort of Sipadan in April 2000, seizing 21 people, including Western tourists. The guerrillas brought the hostages to Jolo and released all but one Filipino resort worker in exchange for millions of dollars in ransom reportedly paid by Libya.
Last year, U.S. troops trained Filipino soldiers in a six-month counterterrorism exercise designed to crush the Abu Sayyaf operating on neighboring Basilan island, near Zamboanga. The exercise was credited with the capture and killing of key Abu Sayyaf members and leaders.
The government announced a similar exercise will be held this year on Jolo, where many Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf guerrillas have sought refuge.
The guerrillas on Jolo, 590 miles south of Manila, are holding three Indonesian sailors and four women from the Christian sect Jehovah's Witnesses seized last year.
The Filipino's have consisitently kicked muslim ass since the war on terror began.
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