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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. |
| Posted by:Fred |