By Ben Cal
An A-1 intelligence tip plus the doctrine of night tactics practiced by OV-10 pilots were the key to the successful airstrike staged by the Philippine Air Force (PAF) on the jungle hideout of the Abu Sayyaf Group in Sulu that killed 15 terrorists, including three ranking leaders, two of whom were Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants.
Maj. Gen. Jose Tony E. Villarete, commander of the 3rd Air Division based in Zamboanga City, said OV-10 pilots made a perfect “bull’s eye” of where the three top terrorist leaders were sleeping inside their tents deep the jungle of Parang town last February 2.
Villerete, a veteran jet fighter pilot, is standing path on the claim by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that JI leaders Zulkipli bin Abdul Hir, alias Marwan, and Muhamda Ali, alias Muawiya, and Abu Sayyaf leader Gumbahali Jumdail, alias Dr. Abu Pula, were killed during the early dawn air raid.
Marwan was a Malaysian engineer who got his diploma from the United States Malaysia
Marwan was an expert bomb maker who taught the Abu Sayyaf terrorists how to manufacture bombs. He was a close associate of Umar Patek, a JI leader arrested in Abbottabad in Pakistan
He was listed as one of the most wanted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with a $ 5-million bounty on his head.
Jumdail was tagged as responsible for multiple kidnappings, beheadings, and atrocious violence around Mindanao .
On the other hand, Ali was a Singaporean senior leader of JI linked to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.
The military had been hunting down Jumdail for the past years. He was killed during the bombing run. Reports also said that Jumdail’s son was among those killed.
“We are confident we got the three terrorist leaders despite the fact that their bodies were not recovered,” Villarete told the Philippines News Agency in a phone interview.
He explained that “under the Islamic faith, the remains are buried immediately and there is no away the bodies can be exhumed because that is tantamount to desecration.”
With regards to the successful airstrike, Villarete said that “Our OV-10 pilots have been conducting training on night attack without using night vision goggles and hit their targets such us what they did last Thursday.”
Upon receiving highly reliable intelligence information, Villarete did not waste time giving the green light to the OV-10 pilots to carry out the airstrike.
Two OV-10 planes, each carrying a pair of 260-pound bombs, took off from Andrew’s Air Base in Zamboanga City
The pilots had been standing for days waiting for the go-signal to fly at a moment’s notice.
Villarete said he had chosen “to carry out the attack at night to avoid collateral damage to the people who stay inside their homes compared to during daylight when civilians are in the streets.”
“Besides, our pilots have been trained on the doctrine of night tactics that enable them to carry out with precision night attack without using night goggles,” Villarete added.
Villarete also said “the advantage during a bombing-run at night is the pilots can see the target area once the first bomb is dropped because of the explosion. This enables the pilots to see other areas if there are civilians around.”
He said the intelligence information was perfect as the OV-10 pilots struck with precision the real target – the JI and Abu Sayyaf terrorists.
“Another factor that contributed to the success of the night raid was the good weather,” he added.
Villarete said the sky over Parang was clear during the airstrike.
Two OV-10 light-bomber aircraft sneaked over the forested area of Parang and dropped two pairs of 260-pound bombs where the three terrorist leaders were sound asleep.
“In a matter of minutes, the airstrike was completed,” Villarete said.
The successful airstrike has dealt another big blow to the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists in the country.
During the past 10 years, several Abu Sayyaf leaders had been killed. Among them were Abdurajak Jajalani, founder and spiritual leader of the terror group, his younger brother Khadaffy Janjalani and the loud-mouth Abu Sabaya. (PNA/PIA9-ZBST)
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