Janjalani given burial fit for ‘amir’

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A third party investigation over the circumstances that led to the killing of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani revealed the bandit group leader was accorded a decent burial befitting Muslim royalty, disputing earlier reports that his body was hurriedly dumped in a shallow grave.

A former rebel who became part of the third party investigation revealed Janjalani died on Dec. 24 and buried on the same day with full honors like an "amir."

The third party findings on how Janjalani was killed and buried came after joint US and Filipino forensic experts declared last January that the remains retrieved in a grave in the dense jungles of Patikul, Sulu last Dec. 26 were that of Janjalani.

The Abu Sayyaf chief was supposedly buried in Barangay Sandah, around two kilometers away from the site of a major encounter on Sept. 4, 2006.

Janjalani was earlier reported to have been badly wounded in that clash, which also left five soldiers dead and 20 others wounded.

An independent investigation was made to confirm that the body was that of Janjalani, but the circumstances surrounding his violent death varied.

The source revealed that in the afternoon of Dec. 24, around 30 heavily armed bandits arrived in a village near Patikul dragging a body of their fallen comrade.

The group immediately went to look for an imam (a Muslim priest) in the village to solemnize a burial ceremony "with the strict instructions" that no one among the villagers will attend.

About 3 p.m., the burial ceremony proceeded with the imam, whose name was withheld for security reasons, recognizing the body was that of Janjalani’s.

The burial ceremony lasted for three hours with the armed bandits leaving the place after marking the grave site of their fallen leader.

The source who became part of the third party investigation, revealed he was among the former Abu Sayyaf rebels who led the Marines to the grave site three days after the burial.