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Southeast Asia

Phillipine armed forces eliminated Abu Sayyaf HVT, group's future unclear

2010-03-02

Philippine media is reporting that on February 21, leading Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) commander Albader Parad was killed along with five other fighters on the island of Jolo, in the volatile Sulu archipelago, in a confrontation with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) 2nd an 3rd Marine Battalions (Mindanao Examiner, February 23; The Manila Times, February 22). In what Filipino commanders described as both a moral booster to the AFP and a severe blow to the ASG's hierarchy, the death of Parad came after a fierce gun battle with the militants in Jolo's remote Karawan district where ASG men had taken shelter. Parad had arisen in the militant scene with a logistically astonishing raid and mass kidnapping on a Sipadan Island dive resort off the coast of Malaysia's Sabah state (Borneo) on April 23, 2000 in which 21 tourists and resort employees were ferried off to Jolo in the group's first act of cross-border terrorism. Albader Parad was one of Manila's most wanted men and the quintessence of a high-value target before his death. His most infamous operation was the kidnapping of three International Committee of the Red Cross volunteers in north Jolo's Patikul region on January 15, 2009 (Philippine Inquirer, January 17, 2009). Parad was on the United States radar in connection with the killings of two U.S. soldiers by an improvised explosive device on the island last fall (Philippine Inquirer, September 30, 2009). The AFP commander of Western Mindanao, Lt. General Benjamin Dolorfino, believes the death of another major ASG figure puts the group's future on shaky ground and that "there are no other young leaders emerging" to take over where Parad so violently left off (Philippine Inquirer, February 23). Dolorfino touted the elimination of Parad as a concurrent victory for the Philippine military's American sponsors, telling the press that the U.S. had offered a multimillion dollar bounty for Parad but a U.S. embassy spokeswoman in Manila was quick to put down the claim, stating "reports of a $5 million reward being offered by the US are incorrect (ABS-CBN News, February 22)." With Albader Parad now gone from the scene, the future of Abu Sayyaf remains unclear. A number of other high-level ASG leaders who were with Parad on the Sipadan dive resort raid have recently been captured which may affect both the morale of existing militants in the organization as well as disincentivize further potential recruits. In the last several months Abu Sayyaf leaders, including Abdul Basit Usman in Pakistan (see Militant Leadership Monitor, January 2010), are being captured and killed in significant numbers in proportion to the group's current size, which the Philippine press estimates to be about 400 guerrillas. The ASG had been making a sizeable resurgence in Jolo under the former leadership of Albader Parad but the AFP may have strongly tamped down that perceived surge in a series of recent victories (Al Jazeera, February 21). If the past is to be a guide, Parad's absence from Abu Sayyaf is not necessarily a harbinger of the group's imminent end. The killing of ASG's amir, Khaddafy Janjalani in 2006 did little to stop the militants from terrorizing their theater of activity. Philippine military commanders on the ground in the south appear more optimistic than Manila's political elites. "We consider the leaders the center of gravity. Once we have neutralized the leaders, we expect that the group (ASG) will crumble" Dolorfino told Philippine television (ABS-CBN News, February 22). Much, much more at the link. Link points to Georgia Daily article on armored trains...

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Southeast Asia

Meet the new leader of Abu Sayyaf

2008-10-03

The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) has a new leader: Ustadz Yasser Igasan. According to a reliable Army Commander, Igasan is a religious scholar, not a warrior. Sulu Representative Yusof Jikiri said he had heard Igasan was "very spiritual," but he also noted Igasan was a Tausog, an ethnic group known as fierce fighters. Muhammad Jamal Khalifa, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, established Darul Imam Shafin in 1988. Khalifa's International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) funded the religious school. When the news first leaked that ASG commanders had met to choose a new leader, not much was known about Igasan. Since then, a more complete portrait has emerged. Igasan, in his 40s, was among the original members of ASG, along with its founder, Ustadz Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani. In 1993, Igasan was a classmate of Abdurajak's brother, Khaddafy Janjalani, at Darul Imam Shafin, an Islamic institution in Marawi City. Muhammad Jamal Khalifa, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, established Darul Imam Shafin in 1988. Khalifa's International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) funded the religious school. The IIRO ostensibly was engaged in charity work. Investigators say Khalifa was funneling funds to terrorists and supporting secessionist movements in the southern Philippines. He was ASG's link to al-Qaeda. The Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council has since frozen IIRO accounts. As a teenager, Igasan reportedly traveled to Afghanistan to fight the then-Soviet army. How involved Igasan was in any fighting is unclear. The Arabs of al-Qaeda and their Taliban allies regarded Southeast Asian Muslims as not real Muslims. They often gave them lesser duties in camp. Igasan met Janjalani in Afghanistan, and the two talked about a separate Islamic state in the Philippines. When they returned home, they cooperated in establishing the Abu Sayyaf Group. Igasan was in the first ASG camp in Basilan-Camp Al-Madinah. He was there when marines overran the camp. Igasan also was with the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas who raided the town of Ipil in 1995, killing more than 50 people. He reportedly was wounded during the army's pursuit operation. In 1998, Janjalani's death left ASG with three choices for a new leader or emir: Igasan, Khadaffy Janjalani and Radulan Sahiron. The election quickly became a choice between Igasan and Khadaffy. Those who favored Igasan noted that although he and Khadaffy were fellow students at Darul Imam Shafi, it was Igasan that Khalifa had appointed "mushrif"-top of the class. Igasan subsequently became head of Quranic Studies for the IIRO. Igasan also was Khadaffy's senior by three years and thus had three years more field experience. Igasan's supporters believed he had religious credentials almost as good as those of the elder Janjalani. In the end, however, the field commanders threw their support behind Khaddafy, the dead emir's brother. By the late 1990s, Igasan had left the Philippines for further Islamic studies in Libya and Syria. By the late 1990s, Igasan had left the Philippines for further Islamic studies in Libya and Syria. He took a lesser role in ASG after Khaddafy's election and left the country again in 2001. This time, he traveled to Saudi Arabia as an overseas Filipino worker, but it was a cover for his real activities. Igasan made contact with Abu Abdurahman, who was involved with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Igasan began to funnel money from jihadist supporters in Saudi Arabia to Abu Sayyaf. He also might have facilitated the travel of two unidentified militants from Yemen, who were in Basilan with ASG. They left for Mindanao with Khadaffy and his second-in-command, Abu Solaiman. Hostages confirmed the unidentified Yemenis were present when the militants celebrated the September 2001 attacks in the United States. ASG commanders might have supported Igasan's election because of his foreign contacts. They badly need funding, and Igasan's past activities provide the guerrillas with legitimacy as jihadists rather than common criminals. Igasan's next move likely will be to target Westerners in kidnappings for ransom, particularly foreign aid workers, businessmen and tourists. The abductions also can be a tactic to persuade foreign militants that Abu Sayyaf is part of the global jihad. Igasan's religious credentials make him an equal religious authority with the Muslim religious scholars who have issued fatwas, or religious edicts, condemning ASG. His background also could curry favor with Ustadz Habier Malik, a renegade member of the Moro National Liberation Front who withdrew from a peace agreement with the government. In addition, Igasan as leader would make Abu Sayyaf more appealing to the regional Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group. Sources inside the Moro Islamic Liberation Front discount all the speculation about Igasan. They say ASG has adopted the loose "inverted pyramid system of leadership" favored by al-Qaeda. Such a leadership style allows individual commanders autonomy to protect the secrecy of their operations. It means that Igasan would function as a spiritual guide rather than operational planner.

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Southeast Asia

Al-Qaida-linked militants in Philippines get foreign funds despite crackdown

2008-07-08

Al-Qaida-linked militants in the Philippines continue to get significant funding from foreign donors despite a crackdown aimed at stopping the flow of cash that finances bombings and other attacks, two terrorism experts said Monday. 'There is no evidence that terrorist financial flows to the Philippines have dried up,' Rohan Gunaratna, a Singapore-based terrorism expert, told reporters on the sidelines of a Manila conference on terror financing. But he said the militants also use extortion and kidnappings for ransom as a means of supplementing the foreign funding, which isn't always enough to carry out all of their planned terrorist attacks in the country. Philippine military and police officials have said that the Abu Sayyaf, a small but brutal group accused of involvement in bombings, beheadings and kidnappings, suffered a major financial setback when its chief, Khaddafy Janjalani, and his presumed successor, Abu Sulaiman, were killed in 2006 and 2007, respectively. The two leaders had established connections with Middle Eastern and Asian financiers, something most other Abu Sayyaf commanders have failed to do, the officials said. The fundraising task, however, has been taken over by a little-known Abu Sayyaf commander, Yassir Igasan, who developed links with Middle Eastern financiers when he went there for terrorist training in the past, said Gunaratna, author of 'Inside al-Qaida: The Global Network of Terror.' 'As long as he is alive and as long he is active, the Abu Sayyaf will continue to get money from Saudi Arabia,' Gunaratna said of Igasan. Top Indonesian terrorism suspect Umar Patek, who has been hiding in the southern Philippines, also gets funds from Indonesia-based groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah that are used by the Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim rebel groups for terrorist training and attacks in the Philippines, Gunaratna said. National police chief Avelino Razon declined to comment on Gunaratna's claim, saying a lack of information on terror financing has made it hard for authorities to assess the flow of money to local militants. But he said that in the past some of those funds have been monitored and frozen with the help of foreign intelligence agencies.

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Southeast Asia

Militant Declines Abu Sayyaf Leadership

2008-04-09

A Filipino militant trained in the Middle East has declined to lead the brutal Abu Sayyaf group, prolonging a leadership crisis among the al-Qaida-linked militants, according to a confidential police report. The Abu Sayyaf — listed by Washington as a terrorist organization for carrying out bombings, kidnappings and beheadings — has been hobbled by a leadership vacuum since its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani died in a clash with government troops in September 2006. Army officials have said that little-known militant Yasser Igasan had become a top candidate, despite his limited combat experience, because of his connections with potential Middle Eastern financiers. A confidential police report on terrorist threats, seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday, said that Igasan "declined the emirship" of the Abu Sayyaf last year and that the group "continues to operate without a central leadership." The report did not cite any reason for Yasser's refusal. Igasan was among the first members of the Abu Sayyaf, which was formed in the early 1990s by Muslim guerrillas led by Khaddafy Janjalani's elder brother, Abdurajak, according to a separate police report. Igasan, who speaks Arabic, reportedly left the country in 2001 for Saudi Arabia, where he helped raise funds for the Abu Sayyaf, then briefly underwent combat training either in Afghanistan or Iraq, according to a security official, citing statements from captured militants. Marine Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, who heads an anti-terrorism combat force on southern Jolo island, said last week that the Abu Sayyaf leadership crisis and funding problems, along with U.S.-backed offensives, have prevented the guerrillas from launching major attacks. The Abu Sayyaf, which has more than 380 men with 290 firearms, is believed to have launched its last major attack in February 2005 with simultaneous bombings in Manila and two southern cities that killed eight people and wounded more than 100.

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Southeast Asia

Leadership, funding woes hamper Abu Sayyaf attacks--general

2008-04-05

Leadership and funding problems, along with incessant US-backed offensives, have prevented the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf from launching more major attacks, a Philippine military official said Thursday. Abu Sayyaf factions have failed to choose a suitable replacement for rebel chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani and his successor, Abu Sulaiman, who were killed in clashes with US-backed Philippine forces in 2006 and 2007 respectively, Brigadier General Juancho Sabban said. Janjalani and Sulaiman are believed to have united at least six Abu Sayyaf factions on the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan and developed relations with Asian and Middle Eastern financiers. A number of possible successors have been considered, according to intelligence officials. "They haven't been able come up with a single, influential leader who can unite the different factions," Sabban told The Associated Press, citing intelligence information and monitoring of the rebels. The Abu Sayyaf, blacklisted by Washington as a terror group for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings, is believed to have launched its last major attack in February 2005 with simultaneous bombings in Manila and two southern cities that killed eight people and wounded more than 100. An earlier military report that a little-known, foreign-educated commander, Yasser Igasan, had been picked to lead the Abu Sayyaf remains unconfirmed, said Sabban, who heads an anti-terrorism force based in Jolo, about 950 kilometers south of Manila. Two other rebel commanders, one-armed Radulan Sahiron and young, violent Albader Parad, have not gained enough support and trust among members, he said. During recent meetings of Abu Sayyaf commanders, arguments reportedly erupted over logistical and other concerns, Sabban said. They also apparently have problems with ammunition supplies and funds. Indonesian militants from the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah group, who have been hiding with the Abu Sayyaf since 2003, were also constantly on the run, limiting their usefulness, he said. Huge US rewards offered for two top Indonesian terror suspects, Umar Patek and Dulmatin, have severely constricted their movement. "They have to constantly hide because even from within their ranks, some are eyeing such rewards," Sabban said. American and Philippine experts have been conducting DNA tests to confirm if a cadaver dug up in Tawi Tawi province, near Jolo, in February was that of Dulmatin. An Indonesian police official has said the body was not Dulmatin's, citing initial DNA test results, but Philippine police say they will make an official announcement after US experts complete the testing. Efforts by Philippine and US forces to ease widespread poverty on Jolo -- a predominantly Muslim island where fewer than 200 Abu Sayyaf members hide in remote jungle camps -- are weaning communities away from the militants, Sabban said. Projects include repairing roads, schools and water supply systems. "Anything from us used to be considered `haram,' " said Sabban, referring to the local term for forbidden things. "Now they're clamoring for roads, schools and development from us."

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Southeast Asia

Philippines says coordinated strategy led to downfall of Abu Sayyaf

2007-06-03

Top leaders of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group were killed through a combination of sustained military operations and development aid, the Philippine defense minister said Sunday. Months of community dialogue, medical assistance and infrastructure projects on the southern Philippine island of Jolo underpinned military operations that led to the killing of the group's top leaders, Hermogenes Ebdane said. "The world witnessed the fall of the elusive leaders of the Abu Sayyaf group in several military encounters," Ebdane said in an address to the Shangri-La Dialogue, a meeting of regional defense chiefs in Singapore. "What the world did not see were the operations that applied the combination of hard and soft approaches to addressing terrorism," he said. The military launched a major offensive last August on volatile Jolo, about 960 kilometers (600 miles) south of Manila. It targeted leaders of Abu Sayyaf and another group, Jemaah Islamiyah, who together have been blamed for attacks including a bomb blast on a ferry in Manila Bay in 2004 that killed 116 people. Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani and his presumed successor, Abu Sulaiman, were both killed in the operations, part of a campaign that began in 2002 to apply a combination of humanitarian work and military tactics to win over the local Muslim population and marginalize militants. Washington has funded roads, schools, and other civic projects on Jolo, and the U.S. military has helped train and arm underfunded Philippine forces and often flies P3 Orion spy planes to help track insurgents hiding in Jolo's tropical jungles. The battle setbacks have driven more than 300 Abu Sayyaf remnants, split into at least six factions, along with a few Indonesian terror suspects, deeper into the jungle and provided a months long respite from violence in Jolo's townships. Ebdane said heightened interaction between the government and local communities constricted Abu Sayyaf's previously unhampered room for activity and produced intelligence on the location of top leaders. Military operations on land and control of the surrounding seas — the fighters' traditional route of escape — further strangled the group's operating space, he said. "It is this combination of developmental and military tools that led to the fall of the top leaders," Ebdane said. Despite its recent setbacks, Abu Sayyaf has staged occasional attacks seeking to reassert itself as a terror force. In April, one faction beheaded seven men they had kidnapped and had the heads delivered by civilians to the doors of two army detachments on Jolo.

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Southeast Asia

Unknown militant may lead al-Qaida-linked group in Philippines

2007-03-04

JOLO, Philippines: A little-known Filipino militant is being considered to lead the violent al-Qaida-linked group Abu Sayyaf after U.S.-backed troops killed its two top leaders, security officials said Saturday. Citing intelligence information, Philippine Army Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo said Yasser Igasan has been tipped as a possible replacement. Cedo is overseeing a massive U.S.-backed offensive against the Abu Sayyaf on the southern Philippine island of Jolo. Igasan, who had been to Libya and the Middle East, was being considered because of his terror training abroad, his good education and his crucial connections with possible foreign financiers — traits which other Abu Sayyaf commanders lack — two security officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, citing policy. The Abu Sayyaf, which is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, has been blamed for deadly bombings, beheadings and high-profile ransom kidnappings, including of Americans. Not much is known about Igasan's background. His name cropped up during intelligence operatives' monitoring of goings-on within the Abu Sayyaf following the separate killings of its chieftain, Khaddafy Janjalani, and presumed successor, Jainal Antel Sali Jr. or Abu Sulaiman, the two security officials said. Igasan, an explosives expert, may have already returned to Jolo island in Sulu province, Cedo told The AP. "He's from abroad," Cedo said. "He has the connections." Military and police intelligence officials have speculated that the next most likely leader of the Abu Sayyaf would be chosen from among its most senior commanders, led by Radulan Sahiron, a one-armed militant based in the mountain jungles near Jolo's Patikul town. Despite the emergence of possible successors, it may take time for the Abu Sayyaf to anoint a new leader because its remaining 400 armed members, mostly on Jolo and in nearby Basilan island, were struggling to run away from relentless military assaults, the two security officials said.

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Africa Subsaharan

Brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden assassinated

2007-01-31

Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a brother-in-law of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a raid on his home in Madagascar, his brother said on Wednesday. Malek Khalifa told Dubai-based Al Arabiya television that the aim of the killers appeared to have been to rob his brother, Jamal Khalifa, who mined and traded precious stones in Madagascar. Malek said a gang of 20 to 30 gunmen broke into his brother's bedroom, shot him dead ``in cold blood'' and stole his belongings. Arabiya said the businessman was staying at a precious stones mine he owns in Madagascar when he was killed early on Wednesday. ``We still don't have a complete picture of the incident,'' Malek told Arabiya by telephone from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Jeddah. ``I don't think it was politically motivated,'' he added in response to a question. The Philippine Daily Inquirer, in what it said was the last interview given by the leader of the Abu Sayyaf group before his death, on Monday quoted Khaddafy Janjalani as saying that his group had received funds from two men close to bin Laden, identifying one of them as Jamal Khalifa. But CNN reported on Tuesday that Jamal called reports he had funded the Abu Sayyaf group in return for volunteers to fight in Afghanistan ``completely false.'' ``I have never given any money to any group or persons that include the Abu Sayyaf,'' CNN quoted Jamal as writing in an e-mail. Malek also denied his brother was involved in political activity, and said that apart from family ties, Jamal had no links to bin Laden, a Saudi national who was stripped of his citizenship long before the September 11 attacks on the United States. Khalifa said the Saudi authorities had been informed of the killing.

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Southeast Asia

Philippine military gets ready for reprisal attacks

2007-01-22

MILITARY intelligence agents went on high alert yesterday to thwart revenge attacks by Muslim extremists after the government confirmed the death of the leader of the Abu Sayyaf group. Security forces were monitoring urban centers, especially in southern Mindanao, where members of the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah network are known to operate, a military spokesman said. “Intelligence [are] monitoring to prevent any retaliatory attacks,” Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said over dzBB radio. The warning came a day after the military announced that DNA tests carried out by US investigators confirmed that a body recovered in December in Jolo was that of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani. But President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the military to be vigilant and deal the terrorists the “final blow”—even as the United States praised the Philippines for Janjalani’s death. “Perpetual vigilance is indeed the price of freedom, and we must never let our guard down,” Mrs. Arroyo said. “We must continue to destroy the spawning grounds of terror by a combined strategy of grassroots vigilance, economic development, interfaith solidarity and international cooperation,” she said. “The death of Khaddafy Janjalani is an important and positive step forward in the ultimate goal of eliminating the ruthless and dangerous Abu Sayyaf group, and in destroying its links with international terrorist groups such as the Jemaah Islamiyah, the US embassy in Manila said in a statement. “The US will continue to work with partners in the Philippines’ military, law enforcement, and national and local governments to bring terrorists to justice and to build peace and prosperity in Mindanao and throughout the Philippines,” the embassy said. Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon described the confirmation of Janjalani’s death as “hitting the jackpot,” and that was because it ended speculations that the body that the military had dug up in Jolo last month was not that of Southeast Asia’s most wanted man. Janjalani, also known as the Emir, became the overall leader of the Al Qaida-linked group when his brother, Abubakar Abdurajak Janjalani, was killed by police in 1998. The elder Janjalani founded the Abu Sayyaf in the early 1990s to fight for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao. At one time, he allegedly received financing from Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaida network. Under the younger Janjalani’s leadership, the Abu Sayyaf adopted terror tactics, specializing in kidnappings for ransom and bombings. Together with another top Abu Sayyaf leader, Abu Solaiman, Janjalani masterminded the kidnapping deaths of two US citizens in 2001 and the firebombing of a ferry on Manila Bay that left over 100 dead. The military said it killed Solaiman last week, creating a “leadership vacuum,” Bacarro said. “They have a leadership vacuum now and are disorganized. We will take the advantage by keeping up the tempo and continuing the operations against them,” he said. He said it would take some time for the scattered Abu Sayyaf members to regroup under one command, but conceded desperate militants could stage random attacks. More than 5,000 troops are scouring the dense jungles of Jolo for remnants of the Abu Sayyaf, who are also believed to be protecting wanted Jemaah Islamiyah bomb experts Dulmatin and Umar Patek, wanted for the October 2002 bombings in Bali. The Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah are both on the US watch list of foreign terrorist organizations. US forces are providing intelligence backup to their Filipino counterparts in Jolo.

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Southeast Asia

Daffy doorknob dead

2007-01-20

The leader of the Philippines' most violent Muslim militant group is really most sincerely dead, military chief Hermogenes Esperon said on Saturday. He said U.S. forensic tests on a decomposing body found last month on the island of Jolo have confirmed the dead man was Khaddafy Janjalani, the most wanted man in the country with a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head. Janjalani is was on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of most wanted terrorists after being indicted by a U.S. court for the kidnap and killing of American missionary Martin Burnham in 2002. The Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the Philippines' worst terror attack in February 2004 when a bomb crippled a ferry near Manila, killing more than 100 people.

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Southeast Asia

Jainal Antel Sali aka Abu Solaiman Possibly Killed

2007-01-17

The Philippine military said on Wednesday that a top leader of the Abu Sayyaf group of terrorists bandidos militants was killed in a clash with troops at a rebel jungle camp. Abu Sulaiman, one of the top five leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, was killed in a gunbattle on Tuesday on the southwestern island of Jolo, military spokesman Major Eugene Batara told reporters. The military had previously said Sulaiman might have been wounded in the clash but Batara said a body found when the fighting subsided turned out to be that of the militant leader. Two soldiers were wounded in the fighting, the military said. Sulaiman is among five leaders of the Abu Sayyaf wanted by the United States for the kidnapping of three of its citizens and 17 Filipino tourists from the Dos Palmas resort on Palawan island in May 2001. Sulaiman is also believed to be involved in the worst terror attack in the Philippines, the bombing of a passenger ferry off Manila Bay in 2004 that killed at least 200 people. Batara said the military was positive the dead man was Sulaiman, but previous claims by the government of successes against militants have sometimes been exaggerated or erroneous. The U.S. Embassy said it was awaiting confirmation that the dead man was Sulaiman. "We'd like to see the severed head." Late last month, the military said Abu Sayyaf chief Khaddafy Janjalani might have been killed in September and sent tissue from a decomposing body found on Jolo for forensic tests. Results are still awaited. "C'mon Dr. Quincy, we need those results!" "I'm working on it! Rome wasn't built in a day!"

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Southeast Asia

RP, US hold tests to see if body is Daffy Janjalani

2006-12-29

PHILIPPINE and American authorities are working on DNA tests to verify if the body exhumed in Patikul, Sulu, last Wednesday was really that of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani, the military reported yesterday. “A body was exhumed yesterday in Patikul, Sulu, but we have yet to confirm if it is Janjalani. Right now, we have some personnel from the Philippine National Police who will collect samples and bring them to the PNP crime lab,” said Gen. Hermogenes Esperon during a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo. “The American forces that are there have also taken a sample so that they could make their own DNA tests, so until such time that these tests are completed, we could not be sure who the cadaver is,” Esperon said. "You want to run your own tests? Of course! Which piece would you like?" "How about this lip?" "Here! Take both of them! We have lots of other pieces!" “Of course, I hope it’s Janjalani,” Esperon said, “but there is no official confirmation until such time that the tests are complete and I hope the requirements for credible testing are still there.”

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