ICRC Abductor, 5 others Killed in Sulu Clash — Military

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – (UPDATE 3) Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad was among the six suspected members of the group killed in a gun battle with government troops early Sunday, the military said.

"We have confirmed that one of the six bodies belong to Albader Parad as confirmed by four independent civilian sources," Major General Ben Dolorfino, chief of the Western Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone late Sunday afternoon.

Parad was one of those behind the kidnapping of three members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in January 2009, and ABS-CBN reporter Ces Drilon, her two crew members and peace advocate Octavio Dinampo in 2008.

Parad carried a $5 million bounty on his head placed by the US government. The Philippine government raised a P7 million bounty for his head.

Sources in Sulu also said Parad's body was to be buried at the Jolo Muslim Cemetery Sunday afternoon.

Dolorfino, in a text message, identified the other slain Abu Sayyaf members as Simal Abting, Abdulhan Jumdail, Omar Umbah, Hamilton Sadjael and Udin Serail.

Earlier, the military reported that a soldier and six suspected Abu Sayyaf members were killed when government troops raided the bandits’ lair in the village of Karawan in Maimbung, Sulu on Sunday morning.

Dolorfino said government troops belonging to the Special Operations Platoon of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 4 also recovered four firearms.

Three soldiers were also wounded in the clash that ensued during the raid.

Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero, chief of the AFP’s Task Force Comet. said the military conducted the raid after receiving confirmation that the Abu Sayyaf leader and his group were hiding in Sitio Kandang Tukay.

The soldiers, he said, were “greeted with strong resistance from about 25 to 35 armed bandits that led to almost an hour-long clash.”

"It’s a rugged terrain, not populated, so we are confident no civilian was displaced," Guerrero added.

Guerrero said the bandits withdrew towards Mount Tukay, between the towns of Indanan and Maimbung.

“Our troops are still pursuing them,” he said.

Source: Inquirer