(18 Feb 2002)
Basilan
1. US Special forces surveying area
2. US troops
3. Cutaway press
4. Various of US troops using surveying device
5. American soldiers talking
6. SOUNDBITE (English) US Army Major Mark Gatto:
"Today, like I said, we are here, taking in, looking at the area to see where our teams, well one team is maybe coming. So it's important to do that, and meet some of the people, that's always a good thing for us to do. I mean I enjoy getting out meeting fellow soldiers."
Zamboanga
7. US C-130 plane landing at Zamboanga Air Base
8. Sign "US Air Force" on plane
9. US troops disembarking from plane
10. US troops walking
11. Exterior Southern Command Headquarters
12. US Congressman Jim Gibbons (in white shirt) shaking hands with Filipino military officials upon arrival
13. Filipino soldiers looking
14. Congressman Gibbons
15. Sign "Welcome Congressman Jim Gibbons and Party"
16. Congressman Gibbons met by US Colonel William Ball
17. Zamboanga Congressman Celso Lobregat
18. Cutaway
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Celso Lobregat, Zamboanga Congressman:
"He (Congressman Gibbons) is here, more or less, to learn and to see what he and the US Congress and the US government can do to help in the situation."
Basilan
20. Wide shot Filipino soldiers surveying with Americans
21. American soldiers, pull out to wide shot
22. Filipino soldiers looking
23. American and Filipino soldiers standing together, pan to US soldier
24. More of soldiers
STORYLINE:
US Special Forces on Monday ventured to within a few kilometres of a jungle stronghold of the Muslim extremist group that is the subject of their counter-terrorism exercises with the Filipino military.
Accompanied by Filipino military escorts, a US army major and three other soldiers travelled to a Philippines marine camp in Maluso town, on the extreme southern island of Basilan.
There, they surveyed the area ahead of the arrival of a small US Special Forces contingent due to stay there.
The tactical command post, where the Americans stayed three hours to watch a helicopter landing, eat lunch and meet more than 100 Filipino marines, is nine kilometres (5.5 miles) from Mount Puno Mahaji, a known Abu Sayyaf stronghold.
It is also about the same distance from another area where suspected Abu Sayyaf guerrillas recently beheaded a Philippine military guide, underscoring risks that US troops are taking as they bring Washington's war on terrorism to the southern Philippines.
The four US troops who travelled to Maluso were among the first batch of a 160-strong Special Forces contingent joining in a training exercise designed to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to the al-Qaida terror network.
The rebel group has been holding American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham along with Filipina nurse Deborah Yap, as hostage for the past eight months.
Meanwhile, US troops continued to arrive in nearby Zamboanga, joining more than 200 other American soldiers who have arrived in recent weeks for the exercises.
A total of 660 US troops will participate in the six-month long exercise which will be conducted both in Basilan and Zamboanga.
Also on Monday, US Congressman Jim Gibbons of Nevada arrived at the headquarters of the Southern Command in Zamboanga to visit the US troops and to get a briefing on the situation in the southern Philippines.
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