More Philippine troops sent to hunt for Janjalani, JI operatives



Manila-- News sources and the Philippine military said Tuesday it will send another 2,000 troops to Jolo to bolster a US-backed four-month offensive to capture the country's top terror suspects.

According ot news sources, about 6,000 Army troops and Marines have been searching for Indonesians Umar Patek and Dulmatin, suspected members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network, who fled to the southern Philippines after allegedly plotting the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani since August 2006.

Washington has reportedly offered a US$10 million reward for the capture of Dulmatin and US$1 million for Patek.

The two are believed to be hiding in the jungles of Jolo with leaders of the Abu Sayyaf group, notorious for kidnappings, beheadings and terror attacks.

"The arrival of these forces will significantly augment Marine units...which are battling the members of the Abu Sayyaf and their JI cohorts in the coastal and hinterland areas," according tp Philippine Marine spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ariel Caculitan said.

Observers commented that although the massive operations have not resulted in the arrests of key leaders, they have kept the militants on the run and prevented them from plotting new attacks at a time when the country is preparing to host the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit this weekend, Caculitan said earlier.

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