Capture of Abu Sayyaf leader hailed

Abu Sayyaf leader Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot, arrives at Villamor Airbase in the Philippines yesterday. He was one of two Abu Sayyaf leaders who allegedly masterminded the kidnapping of 21 people, mostly Western tourists, from Malaysian's Sipadan island in April 2000. PHOTO: REUTERS

The Philippine government commended troops and civilian informants yesterday for helping in the capture of a senior Muslim guerrilla commander, and vowed to crush any remaining Abu Sayyaf rebels.

Galib Andang, also known as Commander Robot, the leader of a faction of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf extremist group, was wounded in both legs during a gunfight with soldiers on Sunday in Indanan town on southern Jolo island, said Brigadier-General Gabriel Habacon, head of the military's task force charged with hunting the guerrillas.

Civilian tipped off soldiers on the whereabouts of Andang, who is suspected in a series of ransom kidnappings, including the abduction of Western tourists from a Malaysian resort three years ago, Habacon said.

Other Abu Sayyaf guerrillas with Andang escaped during the gunfight, he added.

Andang's were believed to be serious, but Habacon said he wasn't sure if his legs would need to be amputated. TV footage showed the wounded suspect being carried away on a stretcher by soldiers. He was conscious and at times smiled.

Military Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Lucero said Andang will be brought to the hospital inside the main army camp in suburban Quezon City, where Armed Forces chief General Narciso Abaya was scheduled to present him to the media later yesterday.

"The capture of Commander Robot is another heavy blow to the Abu Sayyaf, which has been heavily decimated by military operations," President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said in a statement. She said the group was "weary and on the run."

"The [military] is determined to finish the job against the Abu Sayyaf even as we pursue a second front against the clandestine cells of [Jemaah Islamiyah]," Arroyo said, adding the government will keep up the pressure "until all terrorists are accounted for."

The government has warned that the Abu Sayyaf group, notorious for kidnappings and beheading hostages, was cooperating with the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, which according to officials has about two dozens operatives in the southern Philippines.

Andang suspected of involvement in the April 2000 kidnapping of 21 people, about half of them Western tourists, from the Malaysian resort of Sipadan. The hostages were released after months in captivity, reportedly in exchange for millions of dollars in ransom paid by Libya.

A year later, the rebels kidnapped three Americans and 17 Filipinos.

One the Americans was beheaded and another died during a military operation that led to the rescue of the third.

The kidnapping spree prompted the US to send more than 1,000 soldiers for a counterterrorism exercise that helped Filipino troops dislodge the group from Basilan island.

The Philippine military estimates there are about 250-500 guerrillas on Jolo, down from about 800 in 2001.

National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force chief Angelo Reyes said the government was open to have Andang stand trial in any country that may seek his extradition, but that he would first be tried in the Philippines, where he faces charges punishable by death.

Faced a surge in ransom kidnappings, Arroyo last week lifted a moratorium on executions of people convicted of serious crimes.

She clarified over the weekend the executions will apply only to convicted kidnappers and drug lords.