Soldier killed as Manila raises alert

MANILA • Suspected supporters of Abu Sayyaf killed one Philippine soldier and wounded seven others in an ambush shortly before their leader was declared dead, the military said yesterday.

The Philippines raised its alert level on Saturday in anticipation of possible retaliation from Abu Sayyaf followers after the group’s leader, Khaddafy Janjalani, was confirmed dead following US forensic tests.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said yesterday the death of Janjalani in a gun battle in September was a “mortal turning point” for the Abu Sayyaf, the Philippines’ deadliest Muslim rebel group.

Security forces were monitoring urban centres, specially in southern Mindanao island, where members of the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network are known to operate, a military spokesman said.

“Intelligence (are) monitoring to prevent any retaliatory attacks,” Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro said over DZBB radio.
The warning came a day after the military announced that DNA tests carried out by US investigators confirmed that a body recovered in December on Jolo island was that of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani.
J
anjalani, also known as the Emir, became the overall leader of the Al Qaeda linked group when his brother, Abubakar Abdurajak Janjalani, was killed by police in 1998.

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