ZAMBOANGA CITY—Government forces captured a “bomb factory” of the Jema’ah Islamiyah (JI) and Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu before noon on Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, Joint Task Force Comet commander, said the government forces overran the camp located in sitio Kandilamon, Kagay, Indanan town.

The camp was used by the JI terrorists and Abu Sayyaf bandits in the training of bombers and in the manufacture of explosives used to attack soft targets, Sabban said.

A soldier was wounded while casualties were not immediately determined on the JI-Abu Sayyaf side, but the troops believed the combined terrorists and bandits suffered heavy casualties.

The bomb-making camp fell after the troops swooped down the area following barrage of artillery and mortar fire.

Maj. Eugenio Batara Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) information officer, said the “surgical strike” started at dawn on Wednesday following reports that the camp is being used to manufacture bombs and train bombers.

Batara said the Abu Sayyaf bandits that clashed with the soldiers is led by Gumbahali Jumdail alias Dr. Abu Pula, one of the remaining senior bandit leaders who was also involved in the mass kidnapping of tourists in Sipadan, Malaysia, in 2000.

Sabban said there were some 200 Abu Sayyaf bandits in the camp.

He said the Abu Sayyaf bandits and JI militants were planning to conduct “something big” as evidenced by the unusual convergence of the remaining bandit leaders in the area.

The Wesmincom chief, Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, disclosed that at least 10 JI terrorists are hiding in Sulu.

Sabban said the bomb factory is believed to be the source of explosives used in the April 13 bombings in this city.

Supt. Jonathan Perez, Zamboanga City police officer in charge, said one of the three bombing suspects in this city was identified as Joel Salim alias Abu Maja, an Abu Sayyaf explosives expert.

Glass panels of the Immaculate Concepcion Metropolitan Cathedral Church on La Purisima Street, downtown and two vehicles were damaged in the explosion that took place shortly after 4 a.m. on April 13.

Another bomb exploded a few minutes after in front of a building that houses a government office and a bank on Veterans Avenue, 1.5 kilometers east of the cathedral.

No one was killed or injured in the two explosions. Manhunt continues for the three bombers.

Government forces still are pursuing the fleeing Abu Sayyaf bandits and JI militants who abandoned the bomb factory at the height of the firefight.

The bandits are in seclusion because of the sustained military campaign and the lack of support from the Sulu people, Sabban added.

“We are confident that there will be no collateral damage, since the Abu Sayyaf camps are in areas that are far from civilian communities. Rest assured, the operation is conducted with complete and due regard for the safety of the innocent civilians and their properties. They are the very reasons we risk our lives to pursue these bandits,” Sabban addeed.

Sabban also clarified that the operation is not against the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

“No way, this operation is not against the MNLF. They are not our targets. We are primarily after the ASG [Abu Sayyaf Group] and the JI,” Sabban said.

He said the MNLF leaders are sincere in cooperating with the government and they are the ones who pinpointed the location of the bomb factory. 

Cops on alert for rallies nationwide

THE National Police went on heightened alert on Wednesday in preparation for the expected mass actions that are usually held during Labor Day.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Government forces captured a “bomb factory” of the Jema’ah Islamiyah (JI) and Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu before noon on Wednesday.

ERRING officials of Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Co. (ZTE) of China could be held liable for bribery in connection with the multimillion-peso kickbacks paid in advance to alleged Malacañang brokers after ZTE bagged the aborted $329-million contract to build a national broadband network (NBN) here, the Senate chief investigator in the NBN-ZTE scandal said on Wednesday.

“ON a final note, it must be stated that the continuing battle of which group should sit in the governing body of the AMWSLAI has caused doubts and uncertainties in the minds of the hundred of thousands who have invested their life savings therein.

A TOP British official will visit the Philippines this weekend to find out how to further strengthen relations with particular focus on Britain’s investments in the clean development mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol.

SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Wednesday moved to block the administration’s plan to seize control of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), warning that “it is not a good idea for government to take over private enterprises.”

CONTRARY to speculations, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro will not be affected by the impending Cabinet revamp, President Arroyo said on Tuesday night.