October 12, 2001, Associated Press, House passes Senate anti-terrorism legislation but adds 5-year expiration date, by Jesse Holland,
October 12, 2001,U.S. Department of State, Senate & House Approve Similar Anti-Terrorism Bill, by Ralph Dannheisser,
October 13, 2001, St. Petersburg Times, House passes bill to fight terrorism, 337-79,
October 14, 2001, Law Meme Yale.edu, Clone of Senate Anti-Terrorism Bill Passes House, Posted by Ernest Miller,
October 16, 2001, Townhall.com, No more fantasyland, by Marvin Olasky,
February 20, 2002, The Christian Science Monitor, US troops rile Filipino separatists: US troops deployed this week to fight Abu Sayyaf may provoke a broader militant Muslim backlash, by Dan Murphy,
January 17, 2007, The Seattle Times, Abu Sayyaf leader killed in gunbattle,
January 17, 2007, Associated Press / Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Philippines Al-Qaida Chief Dead?, by Jim Gomez,
January 18, 2007, Associated Press / Tampa Bay Times, Leader of Filipino terror group is killed in gunfight,
February 5 2012, The Guardian / Associated Press, Filipino villagers may have helped kill terrorist, by Jim Gomez,
June 15, 2012, Filipino Reporter, TV crew missing on Philippine kidnap island
October 12, 2001, Associated Press, House passes Senate anti-terrorism legislation but adds 5-year expiration date, by Jesse Holland, Associated Press Writer,
WASHINGTON {AP}— The House approved new police powers sought by the Bush administration to track suspected terrorists but put a five-year expiration date on the most controversial of them.
The 337-79 vote Friday sent the bill back to the Senate, where a version passed Thursday night without the expiration on wiretapping authority. The Senate version also included new tools to combat money laundering.
House Republicans earlier abandoned a package that had been put together by GOP and Democratic members of the Judiciary Committee in favor of the Senate measure that had been negotiated with administration officials.
Democrats cried foul, complaining they were being forced to vote on something they hadn't a chance to read.
"This could be the Gulf of Tonkin resolution for civil liberties, instead of a measure meant to fight terrorism," said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., referring to the 1960s measure that President Lyndon Johnson cited as congressional support for widening the Vietnam War.
House Republicans argued that there was no time to wait. "These are not new issues," said Rep. David Weldon, R-Fla.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner said he hoped the Senate would accept the changes and send the bill to President Bush.
But Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said earlier Friday that Senate Democrats "will not support an anti-terrorism bill that does not have money laundering provisions in it."
Earlier Friday, the White House said Bush would look at using an executive order to impose tighter security at airports on airliners if the Senate didn't reconsider its vote to make airport screeners federal employees.
"It's fair to say the president has broad authority here and if the Congress is unable to act, the president does want to make certain that aviation security is attended to and he does have broad authority," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.
The Senate voted Thursday to "federalize" the jobs of airport security screeners, something Bush opposes because he says civil service rules could inhibit managers from firing bad workers. Fleischer noted that Bush has executive power to order fortified cockpit doors, additional air marshals and more stringent standards for the hiring and training of baggage screeners.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., head of the House Transportation subcommittee on aviation, said Friday plans to introduce an aviation security bill next week that has White House support. The bill would provide federal supervision of airport security and ensure there was at least one federal security designee at every airport, but would not federalize the work force. "Having 27,000 federal baggage screeners just doesn't make sense," he said.
Both the House and Senate anti-terrorism measures would expand the FBI's wiretapping authority, impose stronger penalties on those who harbor or finance terrorists and increase punishment for terrorists.
But unlike the original House anti-terrorism bill, the Senate measure has no expiration date on the new police powers and also includes money-laundering legislation requested by Attorney General John Ashcroft and the White House.
Lawmakers expect to go to a conference committee if no agreement can be reached between the two chambers. It took a year for lawmakers to come to a compromise on anti-terrorism legislation after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, but this time "we will complete that conference quickly," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
The aviation security bill passed the Senate on a 100-0 vote; the anti-terrorism bill 96-1. Only Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., dissented after failing in an effort to tone down parts of the bill's police powers. He also grew angry that the bill, which came straight to the floor and not through committees, was moving so fast. "What have we come to when we don't have either committee or Senate deliberation or amendments on an issue of this importance?" he said.
While sympathetic to Feingold's cause, Daschle said any new amendments would upset the fragile Senate-White House compromise that allowed the bill to move so quickly. "I'm much more sympathetic to arriving at a product that will bring us to a point where we can pass something into law," he said.
The Bush administration has urgently pressed for the two measures as a response to the Sept. 11 hijacked airliner attacks in New York and Washington but both had been stalled for two weeks, the aviation security bill over efforts to add aid for laid-off airline workers and money for Amtrak, and the anti-terrorism bill over civil liberty concerns.
"I commend the Senate for acting quickly and in a bipartisan way to give law enforcement these essential additional tools to combat terrorism and safeguard America against future terrorist attacks," Bush said.
The stalemate on the aviation bill was broken Thursday when a procedural vote went against an amendment to link the bill to a $1.9 billion package to help laid-off aviation workers.
October 12, 2001,U.S. Department of State, Senate & House Approve Similar Anti-Terrorism Bill, by Ralph Dannheisser,
Washington -- The U.S. Senate has overwhelmingly passed a pair of bills that expand law enforcement powers in the fight against terrorism and tighten aviation security, and the House of Representatives has approved a companion anti-terrorism bill -- though one with significant differences.
Disagreements over whether or not to federalize the jobs of airport baggage checkers stalled final House action on the second measure, however.
The Senate anti-terrorism legislation, passed by a 96-1 vote late October 11, would broaden the ability of law enforcement agencies to wiretap suspected terrorists, share intelligence information, and prosecute persons who knowingly harbor terrorists.
The other Senate bill, also passed October 11 - this one by a unanimous 100-0 vote - would create a new, federalized force of baggage screeners, put armed federal guards at key checkpoints, and increase sharply the number of plainclothes "sky marshals" on commercial flights.
The House anti-terrorism bill passed by a 337-79 margin October 12.
The measure stirred substantial debate, after Republican House leaders sought to drop the version that had been proceeding through that chamber in favor of the one passed by the Senate and approved by the White House -- one that some legislators argued would pose a real danger to civil liberties in this country.
The Senate version, for example, would establish the new wiretapping authorities permanently, while House members favored a five-year "sunset" -- or expiration date -- on some of them.
"This could be the Gulf of Tonkin resolution for civil liberties, instead of a measure meant to fight terrorism," said Representative Peter DeFazio (Democrat, Oregon). His analogy was to the resolution passed by the Senate in 1964 that ultimately gave President Lyndon Johnson broad powers in prosecuting the Vietnam War.
But House Majority (Republican) Leader Richard Armey declared, "A good government makes the people secure while preserving their freedom, and that is what this bill does."
The sunset issue and other differences between the House and Senate versions still must be resolved, most likely by a Senate-House conference committee, before a final bill can be sent to President Bush to sign into law.
A second key difference is that the Senate bill includes a money-laundering provision that the House measure omits. And Senate Majority (Democratic) Leader Thomas Daschle said before the House acted, "We will not support a counterterrorism bill that does not have money laundering provisions in it.... It must be done, and we will insist that it be done."
"Money laundering" refers to transactions designed to obscure the origin and ownership of illicit funds.
As for the air safety measure, House members remained seriously divided over the provision of the Senate bill that would federalize airport security personnel.
Many Democrats insist that turning over security to federal operation is vital to improve what they say has been spotty performance by low-paid, under-trained baggage checkers.
But Republicans, who control the House, are concerned about expanding the federal workforce so significantly. They say they will not bring the bill to the floor until they are sure they can pass a version favored by the White House that would keep the screeners in the private sector, even while extending federal controls over their supervision and training.
White House officials said October 12 that President Bush could well tighten air security by executive order - bypassing Congress entirely - if the legislature does not undo the Senate provisions. Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush has authority to order stronger cockpit doors, add air marshals and tighten standards for the hiring and training of baggage screeners.
In support of the White House approach, House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young (Republican Alaska), told reporters, "We're not even going to talk about the Senate bill."
House Minority (Democratic) Leader Richard Gephardt urged speedy action along the lines of the Senate bill. "I think people in the country will have trouble understanding why the Congress can't just do what is rational and sensible at this time of crisis in the country," he said.
(But air safety measure, passed by Senate, stalls in House) (720)
Note: Ralph Dannheisser is a Washington File Congressional Correspondent
The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web Site: http://usinfo.state.gov
Source: U.S. Department of State
Author: Ralph Dannheisser
Published: October 12, 2001
Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov
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October 13, 2001, St. Petersburg Times, House passes bill to fight terrorism, 337-79,
WASHINGTON -- The House on Friday quickly approved antiterrorist legislation pushed by the Senate and White House to increase the government's power to spy on, detain and punish suspected terrorists.
Before passage, however, the House insisted on changing the Senate package to put a five-year expiration deadline on the most intrusive of the new measures, including roving wiretaps, because of misgivings about civil liberties. It also dumped a Senate money-laundering provision, which is moving separately through the House.
House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said he hoped the Senate would accept the House changes and send the bill to President Bush.
Bush was pleased with the House passage, on a 337-79 vote. All west-central Florida representatives voted for the measure.
"I commend the House for passing antiterrorism legislation just one day after the Senate took action," Bush said.
"The House and Senate bills are virtually identical. I urge the Congress to quickly get the bill to my desk. We must strengthen the hand of law enforcement to help safeguard America and prevent future attacks -- and we must do it now."
Despite the presidential plea, possible delays loomed. "We will not support a counterterrorism bill that does not have money-laundering provisions in it," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "Whether it's done in conference or whether it's done in the House of Representatives, it must be done, and we will insist that it be done."
The Senate approved its version 96-1 late Thursday.
Both the House and the Senate antiterrorism measures would expand the FBI's wiretapping authority, impose stronger penalties on those who harbor or finance terrorists and increase punishment of terrorists.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee were unwilling to give police some of the powers the Senate did, however, such as allowing secret "sneak and peak" searches of suspects' homes.
Until Friday, the House also had put the burden on the government to prove that an alien suspect was a terrorist instead of making the suspect prove he was not. Also dropped was an earlier House insistence that police get a court order before seizing business and phone records in terrorism investigations.
The American Civil Liberties Union criticized the legislation. "Most Americans do not recognize that Congress has just passed a bill that would give the government expanded power to invade our privacy, imprison people without due process and punish dissent," said Laura Murphy, director of the the group's Washington office.
With the Senate gone for the weekend and no final resolution possible, Democrats argued that the House should wait until Monday before passing the 175-page bill so that members could read it.
"This could be the Gulf of Tonkin resolution for civil liberties, instead of a measure meant to fight terrorism," said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. Because of a reported attack on two U.S. warships, Congress gave President Johnson a free hand in August 1964 to strike back at attacks on U.S. forces in Southeast Asia, which Johnson used to greatly expand the Vietnam War.
With the government daily looking at new terrorist threats, however, Republicans argued there was no time to wait.
"This is the same bill that the Senate passed last night. It's the same bill that has been available for a few weeks," said Rep. David Weldon, R-Fla. "These are not new issues."
Differences probably will have to be worked out among House, Senate and White House negotiators, but key lawmakers promised finding a compromise won't require the year it took to finish antiterrorism legislation after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. "We will complete that conference quickly," said the Senate Judiciary chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
House Republicans continued to balk at considering legislation Bush requested for improving security at airports and aboard airliners.
The Senate passed legislation Thursday that would make passenger and security gate baggage screeners at all major airports federal employees. Some House GOP leaders vigorously oppose the idea but admit they have fewer votes than those who support it.
"I'm not taking the Senate bill up, period," said Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska.
After Bush administration officials agreed earlier to the Senate language on federalizing aviation security workers, White House officials said Friday they now don't like it and want the Senate to reconsider.
"It's fair to say the president has broad authority here, and if the Congress is unable to act, the president does want to make certain that aviation security is attended to," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., head of the Transportation aviation subcommittee, said he would introduce his own bill that puts the federal government in charge of supervising but not hiring airport screeners.
October 14, 2001, Law Meme Yale.edu, Clone of Senate Anti-Terrorism Bill Passes House, Posted by Ernest Miller, on Sunday, October 14 @ 20:21:27 EDT,
The Register takes a cynical look at the process leading up to Friday evening's House vote on the anti-terrorism bill (essentially a copy of the Senate bill, not the bill the House had been working on), but notes that one small change may limit some abuses of Carnivore (Anti-terror bill may regulate Carnivore use). The 2-year sunset clause which civil liberties advocates supported has been watered down to a 3-year clause that can be extended a further 2-years by the President. CDT has a summary of the House bill that was passed Friday (CDT Summary of House Action on Terrorism Bill). Declan McCullagh continues his great coverage of the anti-terrorism bills for WIRED, getting some good quotes from our representatives (House Endorses Snoop Bill). Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is quoted as saying, "What we have today is an outrageous procedure: A bill, drafted by a handful of people in secret, comes to us without a committee review and immune to amendment." FindLaw carries an AP wire story that also gets some good soundbytes, for example, Rep. Peter DiFazio (D-Ore.), "This could be the Gulf of Tonkin resolution for civil liberties, instead of a measure meant to fight terrorism" (House Adopts Anti-Terrorism Bill).
The New York Times (reg. req.) has coverage (House Passes Terrorism Bill Much Like Senate's, but With 5-Year Limit).
The Washington Post also covers the story (Anti-Terrorism Bill Is Approved).
October 16, 2001, Townhall.com, No more fantasyland, by Marvin Olasky,
In our war against terrorism, it's a good thing that the grown-ups are in charge. My 11-year-old and I last week made a long-scheduled stop at Disneyland during a California speaking trip. We enjoyed Tomorrowland and the yesterdays represented by Frontierland and Adventureland. We saw that the park has nothing resembling a Todayland. That is intentional. Walt Disney built his vision in the 1950s and early 1960s when the Cold War was at its height and the likelihood of nuclear disaster seemed high. He wanted Disneyland to be not just a theme park but a portal to a better time and a different world. Meanwhile, in Washington last week, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., was one of the congressmen fretting about tough anti-terrorist legislation. "This could be the Gulf of Tonkin resolution for civil liberties instead of a measure meant to fight terrorism," he complained, referring to congressional action in 1964 that led to the expansion of the Vietnam War. What kind of Fantasyland is Mr. DeFazio visiting? The news in 1964 was of two U.S. destroyers harassed off the coast of Vietnam. In 2001, we're talking about 6,000 civilians dying in televised destruction, and 60,000 or 600,000 more murders to come, if the terrorists succeed. Do the defenders of ideal civil liberty understand what a war against potential plague-distributors and well-poisoners requires? Civil libertarians at both extremes, right and left, should come out of their fantasies and focus on two questions: How low will the terrorists go, and how can we stop them? Radical Muslims have step-by-step violated the Islamic tradition of not attacking civilians or innocent bystanders. First, some Palestinian groups declared war on every Israeli, conveniently claiming that most receive some military training so they are not really civilians. Then, terrorists claimed that civilians at the World Trade Center are enemies because capitalists purportedly control the world. Osama bin Laden has taken a third step, claiming that all Americans who pay taxes are enemies. Judging by reports of terrorists scouting out Disneyland and other kid-friendly sites, a fourth step -- targeting children -- is likely. It would be great if we could rely on the basic human decency of our opponents -- but they are showing a chilling willingness to go where no man has gone before. Given the severity of the threat, enormously tightened homeland security is clearly essential. Of course federal officials should be able to get an anti-terrorism wiretapping order that would follow a suspect to any phone the person uses. Of course federal officials should be able to get nationwide search warrants for terrorism investigations. One reason some Americans have difficulty with such proposals is that a generation of schoolkids has grown up not knowing much about history, except for how Japanese-Americans were forced into internment camps during World War II and how spy-hunters were supposedly hysterical during the following decade. We need to re-evaluate that history. Internment of citizens clearly was wrong, but some ethnic profiling is needed in wartime when terrorists are coming from a particular ethnic group. In our current crisis, aliens from bin Laden's recruitment countries should at the least be required to notify the FBI of all their travels. Such individuals should require FBI approval to receive pilot's licenses or commercial driver's licenses. Bin Laden has declared war on the United States, and those who support him should have no more rights than Nazi cells had in the United States during World War II. The battle against Communist spies that followed was generally necessary, even though it was given a bad name by Joe McCarthy during the 1950s. We can learn from the past if we do not consider ourselves superior to it. My son and I enjoyed Disneyland rides like "Pirates of the Caribbean," but "Pirates of Afghanistan" is another matter.
February 20, 2002, The Christian Science Monitor, US troops rile Filipino separatists: US troops deployed this week to fight Abu Sayyaf may provoke a broader militant Muslim backlash, by Dan Murphy, Special to the Christian Science Monitor,
ZAMBOANGA CITY, THE PHILIPPINES -- Sharif Julabi, regional chairman of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), sits beneath a poster listing the 99 names of Allah and explains why the expansion of the Bush Administration's war on terror to the southern Philippines could backfire.
"The claim is that [the US is] going after the Abu Sayyaf,'' says Mr. Julabi, referring to a 60 member Muslim kidnap-for-ransom gang that the US is helping to pursue on Basilan island, "But ... we think they're looking for a justification to go to war with us."
Zamboanga City on Basilan, the staging ground for the US operation, is shared by other wings of the MILF who are fearful of the US operation as well. It is shared by farmers, who worry about being caught in the cross fire; and it is shared by leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a separatist group that signed a peace agreement with the Philippines five years ago but still has 20,000 armed men.
Local leaders warn it's a situation that, if handled badly, could inflame simmering Muslim resentment against the center and create a fresh generation of Muslim radicals who harbor a grudge against the US. "This could backfire," says Narimin Hussin, a former MNLF guerilla who now leads a seaweed-growing cooperative on Basilan. "If people get killed, their families will want revenge."
Fifty US special forces advisers arrived on Basilan over the weekend, soon to be joined by 110 more. Basilan is America's first non-Afghan deployment to a combat zone since the war began, and US and Philippine commanders are hoping that it will lead to the swift dismantling of the Abu Sayyaf.
Yesterday, a firefight broke out between Philippine soldiers and the Abu Sayyaf about four miles from where US forces are bivouacked, and over the past week at least 30 armed insurgents have been killed on Basilan and neighboring islands, 20 of whom were killed by mortar fire and attack helicopters on Jolo island, Philippines military officials say.
Though officially described as a six-month training exercise, US soldiers will be joining some of the 6,000 Filipino soldiers on the ground in combat patrols on Basilan, a Los Angeles-sized island home to about 300,000 people, 85 percent of whom are Muslim.
"It's a training mission with the Abu Sayyaf as the live target,'' explains Lt. Col. Danilo Servando of the Philippines military's Southern Command in Zamboanga City. "US soldiers are not to engage in combat, but they are allowed to defend themselves."
Ben Loong, a Muslim businessman and community leader in Zamboanga, worries about a spiral of violence. "The military approach is not a solution. You can kill all of the Abu Sayyaf, but twice as many will take their place if the people feel there is still injustice."
In addition to its 60-odd members on Basilan, the group has about 150 more members operating in the neighboring Sulu archipelago. Philippine intelligence agents say members of the group move freely back and forth between islands, and that they no longer know where Martin and Gracia Burnham, an American missionary couple the group kidnapped eight months ago, are being held.
The Burnhams are one of the reasons that the US is so interested in the Abu Sayyaf. The other is because its original leadership had ties to Al Qaeda.
"We are there only to help pursue the Abu Sayyaf, and will confine our activities to Basilan," says a US official, pointing out that Muslims have been among the chief victims of the Abu Sayyaf. "The objective is to help the Philippines fight terrorism."
But even the best of intentions can hit a snag in the tortured politics of the southern Philippines, where many farmers go armed for their protection, half a dozen rebel and bandit groups occupy overlapping territories, and there is no consensus within the government about what should be done.
While the Abu Sayyaf aren't popular, the MILF are widely viewed as fighting a legitimate struggle for the political and economic rights of the region's Muslims, who make up about 8 percent of the Philippine population. The Spanish called them Moros after the Muslim Moors of North Africa.
"Large numbers of Muslims support them,'' says Mr. Loong. "The Muslim apprehension is that the Abu Sayyaf will flee, soldiers will encounter the MILF instead, and a much bigger conflict will erupt."
Philippine military commanders have said there's little chance of making mistakes: "The other armed groups have been keeping out of the way, so any contacts will be made only with the Abu Sayyaf," says Lt. Col. Reynato Padua, the commanding officer of Camp Cabunbata, a Philippine Scout Ranger camp on Basilan that will soon host US trainers.
But the lines between counter-terrorism and counterinsurgency are already becoming blurred. Philippine police say an alleged Al Qaeda agent, the Indonesian Fathur Roman Al-Ghozi they have in custody, helped the MILF conduct bombings in Manila two years ago. Philippine Army officials say the MILF is aiding the Abu Sayyaf on Basilan.
"The MILF harbor the Abu Sayyaf on Basilan; they provide them a base of operations,'' says Brig. Gen. Edilberto Adan, the Armed Forces spokesman nearby. "So action should be taken."
The scholarly Mr. Julabi, who is responsible for the MILF troops in southern Mindanao and in the smaller islands to the south, calls the military's claims "fabrications to destroy our reputation. I don't deny that some of our cadres received training in Afghanistan in the past. But that was with the CIA!"
Some Muslim leaders here wanted the US to make Muslims a state when the Philippines won its independence, and Julabi says his organization is still interested. "Make us a state, like Hawaii," he says.
Failing that, the MILF would like a referendum on independence or autonomy within the Philippines similar to the UN-sponsored vote in 1999 that led to East Timor's independence from Indonesia. "The US supported the East Timor referendum, but not us. The only difference I can see between the two situations is that they are Catholics, and we're not."
January 17, 2007, The Seattle Times, Abu Sayyaf leader killed in gunbattle,
A top al-Qaida-linked militant, long wanted by U.S. and Philippine authorities, was killed in a clash with troops, the military said today.
Manila, Philippines
A top al-Qaida-linked militant, long wanted by U.S. and Philippine authorities, was killed in a clash with troops, the military said today.
Jainal Antel Sali Jr., popularly known as Abu Sulaiman — a top leader of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group — was fatally shot in a gunbattle Tuesday, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said.
Sulaiman claimed responsibility for a February 2004 bombing that triggered a passenger-ferry fire in the Philippines, killing 116 people.
He also was accused of masterminding the kidnapping of three Americans and Filipino tourists in 2001. One American, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded. U.S. missionary Gracia Burnham was wounded during a rescue by army commandos, but her husband, Martin, was killed during the operation.
Seattle Times news services
January 17, 2007, Associated Press / Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Philippines Al-Qaida Chief Dead?, by Jim Gomez,
MANILA, Philippines — Troops battled al-Qaida-linked Muslim extremists in the southern Philippines, and officials were trying to determine today if a key leader was killed, the military said.
Abu Sulaiman, a top leader of Abu Sayyaf wanted by the United States, was believed to have been killed when army special forces raided his camp Tuesday in Jolo island’s mountainous heartland, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro.
Washington has offered a $5 million reward for Sulaiman’s capture. If his death is confirmed, he would be the highest-ranking Abu Sayyaf commander killed by the Philippines’ U.S.-backed troops, who have been hunting him for years.
Bacarro said the military was bringing a rebel informant to identify the body. He said Jojo villagers had identified the body as Sulaiman.
"All indications are it's Sulaiman," Bacarro told The Associated Press by telephone. "This would really be a major blow to the Abu Sayyaf once we’ve confirmed it's him."
Sulaiman, who has often acted as an Abu Sayyaf spokesman, claimed responsibility for a February 2004 bombing that triggered a ferry fire, killing 116 people in Southeast Asia’s second-worst terror attack.
He is also accused of masterminding the kidnapping of three Americans and Filipino tourists from the southeastern island of Palawan in 2001.
One of the Americans, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded. American missionary Gracia Burnham was wounded and rescued by army commandos after a year in jungle captivity, but her husband, Martin, was killed during the operation.
The kidnappings prompted Philippine authorities to allow the deployment of U.S. troops in the southern Mindanao region to train and arm Filipino soldiers working to wipe out the resilient Abu Sayyaf.
Two soldiers were wounded in the three-hour gunbattle in Jojo island’s Talipao town, 590 miles south of Manila, said regional army spokesman Maj. Eugene Batara. Other insurgents escaped but troops were chasing them.
He said the camp had 17 bunkers and bomb components, leading military officials to believe it has been used as a bomb-making factory.
More than 7,000 troops have been hunting Sulaiman and other militants on Jolo since Aug. 1 in a U.S.-backed campaign called “Oplan Ultimatum.”
The military believes Sulaiman, whose real name is Jainal Antel Sali, is one of at least two possible successors to Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani, who was believed killed in a Jolo gunbattle in September. The military has been trying to confirm Janjalani’s death through DNA tests.
Some security officials doubt Janjalani was killed, saying intelligence information indicates he is alive on Jolo.
Last week, troops killed senior Abu Sayyaf militant Binang Sali in a gunfight in Jolo’s Patikul town. Officials said Sali led an urban terror unit of the Muslim extremist group.
(c) 2007 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
January 18, 2007, Associated Press / Tampa Bay Times, Leader of Filipino terror group is killed in gunfight,
MANILA, Philippines - A top al-Qaida-linked militant, accused of the kidnapping of three Americans in 2001 and of masterminding one of Southeast Asia's worst terror attacks three years later, has been killed, the Philippine military said Wednesday.
Jainal Antel Sali Jr., popularly known as Abu Sulaiman - a top leader of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group - died in a fierce gunbattle Tuesday with army special forces, the military chief, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, said.
Sulaiman, 41, is the highest-ranking Abu Sayyaf commander killed by U.S.-backed troops. Washington had offered up to $5-million for his capture.
In a separate operation, the alleged leader of another al-Qaida-linked terror group was arrested in the southern Philippines, an official said.
The suspect, Kule Mamagong, is accused of plotting an October bombing in the city of Makilala, which killed eight.
Sulaiman allegedly helped plot a February 2004 bombing that triggered a ferry fire, killing 116 people in Southeast Asia's second-worst terror attack.
But he was best known in the United States, perhaps, as the alleged mastermind of the kidnapping of three Americans and Filipino tourists in 2001. One of the Americans, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded. Martin Burnham was killed during a rescue attempt.
The kidnappings prompted Philippine authorities to allow U.S. troops into the Mindanao region to train and arm Filipino soldiers working to wipe out Abu Sayyaf. On Tuesday, army forces raided Sulaiman's camp, sparking a three-hour gunbattle through dense forests, said Maj. Eugene Batara, regional army spokesman.
At his news conference, Esperon displayed a picture of the slain militant, then stood up to put an "x" across Sulaiman's face in a U.S. poster of most-wanted terror suspects.
February 5 2012, The Guardian / Associated Press, Filipino villagers may have helped kill terrorist, by Jim Gomez,
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Abu Sayyaf commander Umbra Jumdail had deviated from the brutal image of his al-Qaida-linked militant group by playing doctor to poor Filipino villagers, whose backing he needed to stay safe from military troops. But those villagers may have been used by the military to finally track him down last week.
A U.S.-backed airstrike killed Jumdail, his son and several militants while they slept in huts or hammocks Thursday near Parang town on southern Jolo island, dealing the latest blow to the Abu Sayyaf and depriving it of a key leader.
Surviving militants suspect that villagers secretly working for the military helped track down Jumdail, said a Philippine military intelligence official who had been helping monitor the militants. The official said militants believe villagers pretending to seek medical treatment traveled to Jumdail's hideout and left some kind of sensor that the military used to target his Abu Sayyaf lair.
The impact of the blasts destroyed huts and toppled trees, including a mango tree that pinned Jumdail, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.
Jumdail had harbored a top Southeast Asian terror suspect, Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan. Among the FBI's most-wanted terrorists, Marwan, a U.S.-educated engineer, had been crucial in helping turn mostly desperate peasant recruits into Abu Sayyaf bombers and training them to carry out deadly attacks.
The Philippine military announced that the long-hunted Marwan and his Singaporean ally Abdullah Ali, better known as Muawiyah, were killed in the air raid along with Jumdail and other Filipino extremists. But two security officials said Sunday that new intelligence shows that Jumdail was killed but that the two foreign terror suspects are still alive and were not in the Abu Sayyaf lair that was bombed.
The military continues to insist that Marwan and Muawiyah are dead and are searching for their remains. Not a single body was retrieved by police in the bombed hilly jungle lair near Lanao Dakulah village, fueling different versions of who was killed.
Philippine officials, nevertheless, hailed Jumdail's death as the latest major blow to the Abu Sayyaf, which has carved its name in blood through bombings, kidnappings and beheadings. The extremist group is on Washington's list of terrorist organizations. The militants, currently estimated to number less than 400, have endured years of battle setbacks and the loss of key commanders.
"He had the charisma and was the real link used by foreign militants," military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said of Jumdail. "He was a big loss."
Jumdail had taken a course related to medicine, enabling him to serve as a rebel medic who treated wounded comrades when he joined the Moro National Liberation Front, once the Philippines' largest Muslim separatist group.
He left the Moro group after it signed a 1996 peace pact with the government and eventually emerged as a commander of the violent Abu Sayyaf, which was organized by a Filipino militant after helping wage the anti-Soviet resistance in Afghanistan, according to Jumdail's former comrades.
While surrounded by militants notorious for beheading hostages, Jumdail had ingratiated himself to many villagers by providing treatment for tropical maladies. He performed jungle surgery to wounded combatants, earning the rebel alias "Dr. Abu Pula."
Rep. Lady Ann Sahidulla, who negotiated for the release of three Red Cross aid workers taken hostage by Abu Sayyaf gunmen in 2009, said she saw Jumdail treating ill villagers with herbs in an Abu Sayyaf jungle encampment. "Doc Abu was kind, but then why didn't he say no to their atrocities?" she said.
While Sahidulla talked with Jumdail, a villager rushed to his lair and warned him that troops were approaching with a tank, though no clash erupted, she said.
Out of mistrust, Sahidulla said she hid a small pistol in her bra in case the violent militants with Jumdail would try something nasty. The three aid workers, from Switzerland, Italy and the Philippines, were eventually freed, reportedly after ransom payments.
A captured Abu Sayyaf commander now under the government's witness protection program has described Jumdail as a "local Robin Hood" who used his loot to help out poor Muslim villagers and keep their loyalty.
U.S. and Philippine officials had offered bounties for Jumdail's capture for high-profile ransom kidnappings. His group was planning terror attacks, including new kidnappings of foreigners and bombings, when he was killed along with his son, who was also an Abu Sayyaf fighter, officials said.
June 15, 2012, Filipino Reporter, TV crew missing on Philippine kidnap island
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Jolo is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant movement in the Philippines. (AFP/File, Romeo Gacad)
MANILA — A three-man news team for the Dubai-based Al Arabiya network are missing on a remote Philippine island notorious for Islamist militants and kidnappings, police said Friday, according to AFP.
Jordanian Baker Atyani and his two Filipino crew failed to return to their hotel on Jolo island Tuesday, provincial police chief Antonio Freyra said.
"The Jolo mayor offered to provide security for them, but they declined, saying they would not go far from their hotel," Senior Superintendent Freyra told AFP by telephone.
Local authorities searched their rooms in Jolo town centre after the hotel owner reported to police that they failed to return in the evening, he said.
The crew had arrived in Jolo by plane Monday and told the authorities they were there to shoot a television documentary for Al Arabiya, Freyra said.
Jolo is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant movement that has been blamed for most of the country's worst terrorist attacks as well as kidnappings of foreigners.
Freyra said there was no information yet as to whether they had been kidnapped, but said foreigners who ventured to the far southern island were targets for the Abu Sayyaf and other groups involved in abductions.
"If Americans or other foreigners come here it is natural for us to offer them security...We all know that we still have a kidnapping problem here," he said.
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