The U.S. military has begun conducting intelligence-gathering flights over the southern Philippines in a significant expansion of its war on terrorism in that country, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday.
The surveillance flights, which have not previously been disclosed, are meant to complement the increasing presence of U.S. soldiers on the ground, projected to peak at 660.
By later this spring, the defense official predicted that the information gained from this operation will combine with better trained and equipped troops to “jolt” the Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group that the United States is targeting as part of its war on Islamic militants. Abu Sayyaf has had links to Al Qaeda and, although those ties have weakened in recent years, Pentagon officials worry that they could be renewed as Al Qaeda members seek new bases.
Though the U.S. military support for battling the insurgency is unequaled in Southeast Asia, the intelligence flights remain in the early stages. The flights are being conducted by Navy and Air Force aircraft and do not land in the Philippines, the official said. The planes are based elsewhere, the official indicated.
