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Abu Sayyaf On the Run After U.S. Training in Philippines, but Fight Not Over
Monday, July 29, 2002
(1:05 AM)
By Oliver Teves
Associated Press Writer

"I think they have been damaged badly, and it would be very difficult for them to rise again," Philippine Marine Lt. Col. Ariel Querubin said. "In our assessment, the neutralization of Sabaya and the fact that many of them are coming to the surface, sending (surrender) feelers, are indications that they have been weakened." However, officials agree the region remains an ideal breeding ground for extremism and rebellion. "We need to accept that the root cause of this problem is perhaps the poverty," Basilan Philippine army brigade commander Col. Alexander Aleo said.

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- AP
Their six-month counterterrorism training exercise has helped the Philippine army weaken the Abu Sayyaf rebels, but American troops are ending their mission this week with the war against the al-Qaida-linked extremists far from finished.

An Abu Sayyaf kidnapping spree is over, and the group has been decimated by clashes, arrests and surrenders. One of its top leaders is thought to have died in a firefight brought about by U.S. surveillance and technology. The Philippine military says its front-line troops are better prepared to fight terrorism.

Still, hopes for a clean victory vanished in a bloody rescue attempt June 7 by U.S.-trained Philippine soldiers that left two of the rebels' last three hostages dead, including missionary Martin Burnham of Wichita, Kan. A helicopter crash that killed 10 American soldiers was the single largest loss of U.S. lives in Washington's war on terrorism.

And no one is ready to write off the Abu Sayyaf, not with at least eight top leaders at large and the Philippine government still facing the daunting task of bringing economic development to the Muslim-dominated south, where wrenching poverty fosters discontent.

The U.S. mission ends Wednesday, but planning for further training operations is in the works as Washington seeks to bolster its former colony.

The unprecedented operation involved 1,000 Green Berets, military engineers and support personnel. It was the first joint exercise in which U.S. troops were deployed in a combat zone and lasted much longer -- six months -- than normal joint maneuvers.
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2002 © The Associated Press.

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