Philippine police kill militant commander, 2 men
The Associated Press, Manila | Sun, 09/05/2010 3:09 PM
Philippine police commandos killed an Abu Sayyaf commander linked to last year's kidnapping of Red Cross workers and gunned down two other militants in a clash in the south, officials said Sunday.
Gafur Jumdail and two of his men were killed late Saturday near Maimbung town on Jolo island after clashing with commandos tracking a Malaysian militant, Jolo police chief Senior Superintendent Joseph Ramac said. An unknown number of militants may have been wounded in the brief battle, he said.
The death of Jumdail, who had been accused of several high-profile abductions including the January 2009 kidnappings of three Red Cross workers from Switzerland, Italy and the Philippines, is the latest blow to the Abu Sayyaf.
Still, the group remains a major security threat in the Philippines, and national police placed the entire force in the southern Mindanao region on full alert to brace for any possible retaliatory attacks over Jumdail's death.
The extremist group has been blamed for the country's worst bomb attacks, kidnapping sprees and for beheading some of its hostages. Washington has blacklisted the al-Qaida-linked group as a terrorist organization and deployed hundreds of troops in the country's south to train and arm Filipino soldiers battling the militants.
The Malaysian that police were hunting is Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, a U.S.-trained engineer accused by Philippine authorities of involvement in a number of deadly bombings in the country. The U.S. has offered a $5 million reward for his capture.
Marwan is believed to have been hiding with the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines for years. It was not immediately clear if Marwan was with Jumdail during Saturday's assault, police said.
The U.S. State Department says Marwan is believed to be a leader of the militant organization Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia and a member of the central command of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida affiliate blamed for numerous regional attacks, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings in Indonesia.
