“We have confirmed that one of the six bodies belonged to Albader Parad as confirmed by four independent civilian sources,” Lt. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, the Western Mindanao Command chief, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.

One Marine was killed while three other soldiers were wounded in a fierce two-hour gun battle at Barangay Karawan in Maimbung, Sulu, the military said.

The US government had a bounty of $5 million on Parad’s head. The Philippine government’s bounty was P7 million.

“It’s a very significant gain in our campaign against terrorism because we all know that Albader Parad is one of their influential leaders,” Dolorfino said.

“This will have a very big demoralizing effect on the other members and shows that they cannot hide forever from the arms of the law,” he added.

Parad had been linked to the kidnapping of three international Red Cross workers on Jolo in January 2009. The three—a Filipino, a Swiss and an Italian—were eventually freed.

The bandit leader had also been implicated in the abduction in 2008 of ABS-CBN reporter Ces Drilon, her two crew and peace advocate Octavio Dinampo. They were also released later.

Caught by surprise

A Marine special operations platoon raided the Abu Sayyaf camp following intelligence reports that Parad and another bandit leader—Umbra Jumdail, also known as Dr. Abu—were there, Dolorfino said.

A younger brother of Jumdail—Abdulhan Jumdail—was among those killed. The other bandits killed were identified as Simal Abting, Omar Umbah, Hamilton Sadjael and Udin Serail.

Dolorfino said the recovery of the bandits’ bodies and their weapons indicated the Abu Sayyaf group were caught by surprise and could have suffered more casualties since it was unusual for them to leave their dead behind.

The weapons taken from the group were a Belgian FN rifle, two M-203 grenade launchers and a Squad Automatic Weapon rifle.

Inquirer informants said Parad’s body was to be buried at the Jolo Muslim Cemetery on Sunday afternoon.

Gunboats and warplanes

The Marines were backed by patrol gunboats and air power, according to Navy spokesperson Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo.

“This is a severe blow against the Abu Sayyaf leadership and a major victory for the peace-loving people of Sulu, who have been cooperating with our Marines by providing vital information about the bandit group,” Arevalo said.

Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of Task Force Comet, said Sunday’s “surgical” operation against the bandits had been planned for months.
The Abu Sayyaf is believed to have received funds from the al-Qaida terror network and is on a US list of terrorist organizations.  -- INQUIRER