By Dorian Zumel Sicat
Two Army companies clashed late last night with Abu Sayyaf rebels in a remote Basilan coastal village, but military officials denied it was the start of a final push for the rescue of an American missionary couple and a Filipino nurse.
Col. Alexander Aleo, commander of the 103rd Brigade based in Basilan, said fighting started shortly after 8 p.m. in Barangay Bulanza, Lantawan town, 20 kilometers from the provincial capital of Isabela City. At least two companies of the 10th infantry battalion and dozens of para-military forcers were involved in “a major encounter.”
Aleo said the fighting started when Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs) spotted an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and opened fire.
Aleo, who was on the field at press time, would not confirm a rescue was underway. He said the band involved in the firefight was led by Abu Sabaya. Another group, led by Isnilon Hapilon, holds Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap, now entering their tenth month of captivity.
Aleo, however, admitted reports that a series of flights by US spy planes had spotted what looked like the main Abu Sayyaf body in Basilan.
In Zamboanga City, Reuters reported Southern Command chief, Brig. Gen. Roy Cimatu as saying US spy planes had tracked down the possible location of the Burnhams.
Cimatu told reporters the surveillance drones, coupled with other intelligence gathered, had helped locate Gracia and Martin Burnham, hostages for more than 10 months. But Cimatu said he did not want to give more details.
The officer said he had ordered ground troops to step up search and pursuit operations to prevent the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas from escaping out of southern Basilan island with the Burnhams and a third hostage, Filipino nurse Deborah Yap.
“They (the Abu Sayyaf) can no longer stay in one place because of the success of our intelligence gathering, especially with the help of spy planes brought in by US forces,” Cimatu told reporters.