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Master plans for Metro Manila: What to ask and what to look for - Part 1
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines – Authorities claimed Sunday they now have in their hands evidence proving that the military had neutralized high-value targets in last week’s air attack in Sulu.
Philippine officials had reported the operation netted, among others, Malaysian terrorist Zulkipli bin-Abdul Hir Marwan, the Jema-ah Islamiyah terrorist more known just as “Marwan,” and a founder of the local Abu Sayyay Group, “Doc Abu.”
The Western Mindanao Command reported Sunday it had retrieved a notebook with the names of 29 alleged JI members from Barangay Duyan Kabau, in Parang town, Sulu.
Military probers, however, are still having the contents translated, as most of what is written down is in Tausug and Arabic.
Authorities hope the notebook will give them a better idea of how the JI and the ASG operate in the island.
Ltc. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, said the intelligence community of the AFP and the Philippine National Police Academy are working double-time on the translation.
Among the contents of the notebook is the name “Julkipli” that officials said is possibly the JI leader Zulkipli bin Abdul Hir or Marwan.
Besides the notebook, authorities also recovered uniforms, magazines, hammocks and other items at the site where bombs were dropped by the AFP’s 0V-10 Broncos.
Meanwhile, the AFP is pleased with the interest shown by Malaysia in trying to confirm that the key JI and ASG personalities had been killed.
Cabangbang said it is good that Manila’s neighbors are helping ascertain the truth, so as to set the record straight and clear doubts raised about what the military billed as a clear accomplishment.
Doubts were raised over the AFP claim it had killed Marwan and Doc Abu after soldiers failed to find bodies at the site where bombs from AFP planes had dropped. There had been instances in the past when claims of ASG leaders being killed later turned out to be a false alarms.
Earlier, the Malaysian Home Ministry said it was sending a team to Manila to validate that indeed, Zulkipli bin-Abdul Hir Alyar Marwan was the one killed in the air strike. Malaysian authorities also want to find out if among those who died with Marwan were two other Malaysian terrorist suspects named Bacho and Jeknal Adil. They are members of another extremist group, the Duru Islam, officials said.
Cabangbang cannot say when the team of forensics experts from KL will arrive in Zamboanga or Sulu, adding the local AFP is just awaiting advice from the national authorities, since the trip of the experts is under a government-to-government arrangement.
