The military ordered a full scale offensive against Abu Sayyaf and “rogue” MNLF allies in Basilan and Sulu. President Arroyo ordered Gen. Esperon, the chief of the army to relocate his headquarters to the southern city of Zamboanga on Mindanao Island to take charge of the military operation. Gen. Esperon has arrived in Jolo along with an additional 1,000 troops. Mazdal Jumdail, Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad’s senior assistant, was killed in last week’s fighting.
