Manila Times, Zamboanga City
Policemen killed a key Abu Sayyaf member arrested in Tawi-Tawi in connection with the spate of kidnappings and murder in Sabah, Malaysia, reports said.
Malaysia’s The Star Online reported that Mobin Hailil alias Kahumbo, who was arrested in Bongao town on August 26, had been shot dead allegedly after grabbing the gun of one of his police escorts while on their way to jail from a court appearance on August 29.
The 44-year-old Hailil was charged with illegal possession of firearm and explosives.
He is also being linked to the killing of Malaysian policeman Rajah Jamuan, 32, in the Mabul Water Bungalow Resort during an Abu Sayyaf raid in July. Jamuan’s companion Zakiah Alejp, 26, was kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf and is being held for ransom in southern Philippines.
The Star Online said Tawi-Tawi police chief Joe Salido has ordered an investigation into the death of Hailil.
Quoting from a police report, The Star Online said Hailil “pulled the firearm of a security team member and resisted. That gave reason for the security team to shoot Kahumbo, resulting in his instant death. Team medics immediately applied first aid and brought Kahumbo to the hospital but he was declared DOA (dead on arrival)”.
The Star Online also quoted an unidentified intelligence source from Tawi-Tawi that claimed Hailil was killed to prevent him from bailing out of prison.
“They said that it would have been difficult to find him guilty in court as he had the protection of someone influential in southern Philippines. It would be difficult to find him guilty on either illegal possession of weapons or kidnapping. Security forces know that he would eventually be freed and that is why they executed him,” the source said.
It was not known whether police and military had finished interrogating Hailil, or whether he was killed to silence him. Abu Sayyaf prisoners are usually transported to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City while charges are being prepared or for further interrogation, especially those involved in high profile cases such as the Sabah kidnappings.
Eastern Sabah Security Command intelligence director Datuk Ahmad Nadzer Nordin said at least 14 groups from southern Philippines were involved in cross-border kidnappings in Sabah.
The Star Online quoted former Abu Sayyaf hostage and Mindanao State University lecturer Octavio Dinampo as saying that Hailil was “an intelligence gatherer for Abu Sayyaf, whose main duty is to identify possible targets for the gunmen to kidnap”.
“As an urban operative, he would be familiar with places like Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Semporna,” Dinampo, who was kidnapped in June 2008, told The Star Online, adding that Hailil would blend in with the Tausug and Yakan communities in these districts.
“These operatives use their knowledge to identify possible kidnap victims and watch their movements as well as the fast boats to be used in the abductions,” he said, adding, any information from Hailil would enable Philippine security officials to know the inner workings of the Abu Sayyaf.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abd Rahman earlier tagged brothers as Nilson and Badong Muktadil as among those involved in kidnappings in Sabah. The two brothers were also linked to the raid on Mabul Water Bungalow Resort.
Star Online quoted Jalaluddin as saying that the brothers were part of a kidnap-for-ransom group based in Tawi-Tawi. They were believed to be involved in the April 2 kidnapping of Chinese tourist Gao Huayun, 29, and Filipino worker Marcy Darawan, 40, from the Singamata Reef Resort off Semporna in Sabah. Both women were freed reportedly after a huge ransom was paid.
A Special Forces commander died after being wounded yesterday when his unit battled a group of Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan.
Officials said the 14th Special Forces Company of captain Mark Gamboa clashed on Saturday with a group led by Halang alias Commander Jeck in the village of Calusugan in Lantawan town. The fighting lasted only 10 minutes.
Gamboa was hit by a bullet in the arm. Soldiers, who reinforced the officer’s unit an hour later brought him to the army headquarters in Isabela City, where US troops gave him first aid while waiting for a helicopter to fly him to Zamboanga City.
Gamboa was airlifted shortly midnight to the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City, but died before reaching the military hospital there.
US troops are training Filipino soldiers in anti-terrorism warfare in southern Philippines, including Basilan, one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, since 2002.
