www.chinaview.cn  2010-01-06 15:40:28 |
| MANILA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, which is behind a number of high-profile kidnapping and bombings, may have lost some members but the group remains a "potent threat", a senior Philippine military official said Wednesday. "The Abu Sayyaf is still a potent threat, so our focus is on how to protect the people from terrorism," said Lt. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, chief of the Western Mindanao Command at the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Dolorfinon told reporters in an interview that the military is targeting to neutralize this year several key Abu Sayyaf leaders. These include Abu Jumdali alias Dr. Abu, Albader Parad, Isnilo Hapilon and Radulan Sahiron. "We expect that once we neutralize the leaders, the organization (Abu Sayyaf) will crumble," he said. The number of Abu Sayyaf members declined to 391 in end-2009, from 409 in the third quarter. Security officials have said that the Abu Sayyaf has linkages with the Al Qaeda network and the Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah. |
| Editor: Anne Tang |
