Troops in search of Bossi battle with MILF rogues

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Troops tracking down Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, a kidnapped Italian Catholic priest, clashed on Tuesday with hundreds of suspected gunmen, believed to be rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) working with lawless elements, in the southern island province of Basilan, military officials said. According to an initial report, one soldier was killed and two others were injured in the fighting that erupted at around 10 a.m. in the town of Al-Barka, according to Marine Colonel Ramiro Alivio, the island's military chief. But in a later report, on Tuesday evening, Marine sources said they have unofficial but reliable reports that two killed, both enlisted men, and that 10 were wounded, one of them an officer and the rest enlisted men. Ten other enlisted were reportedly missing. The same source said the clash took place in Tipo-Tipo town. In the earlier report, Alivio said the soldiers were checking reports that Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, kidnapped on June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay province, had been sighted in the town. The report turned out to be false. "Troops were verifying reports that Father Bossi was spotted in the area, but it turned out negative. Our forces were returning to base when they came under fire and fighting broke out," Alivio said. He said as the fighting raged, the number of gunmen also swelled until it reached 500. Military intelligence sources in Basilan said as many as seven militants were killed and wounded in the fighting, but there could be more casualties as battle continued well into the night. It said MILF forces in Basilan have sided with the Abu Sayyaf group and fought against government troops. Acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales had earlier informed Margherita Boniver, special envoy of the Italian government, that the 57-year old priest from Milan is being held by Abu Sayyaf militants. Boniver, who was in the Philippines last week, expressed caution about the Abu Sayyaf. "There are other theories about the kidnappers — for example, the head of the army mentioned former members of the [Moro] Islamic Liberation Front," she said. Bossi's group, the Rome-based Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere (PIME), doubted the Abu Sayyaf group, which is linked to the al-Qaeda terror network, is holding the priest. Philippine military and police officials have tagged Akiddin Abdusallam, a rogue leader of the MILF, as the kidnapping mastermind. The MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group, denied involvement in the kidnapping but said Bossi's captors were demanding "tens of millions of pesos" in ransom. Last week, three undated photographs of Bossi in captivity were sent to the cell phone of his friend Spanish priest Angel Calvo in Zamboanga City. Military sources said a former Basilan town mayor was the source of the photos. It was unclear how the former official was able to get the photos. Authorities were investigating the authenticity of the photos, all showing Bossi sitting on a boulder surrounded by young trees. One photograph showed Bossi holding a transistor radio. The Italian group PIME said it has had no contact with the kidnappers. Bossi is the third Italian priest that has kidnapped in recent years in southern Philippines. In 1998, rogue MILF rebels kidnapped Father Luciano Benedetti, 52, in Zamboanga del Norte province and held for nearly 10 weeks until he was freed in exchange for a huge government ransom. In 2001, renegade MILF rebels and members of the bandit group Pentagon Gang snatched Father Giuseppe Pierantoni as the 44-year-old from Bologna was saying mass in the parish church of Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur. The priest was freed after six months in exchange for an unspecified ransom, but he claimed to have escaped from his kidnappers. Benedetti now has been following developments in the Bossi kidnapping case closely from the start, from the PIME regional house in Zamboanga City. - Al Jacinto, GMANews.TV