2 more ASG men killed

The military relentlessly shelled an Abu Sayyaf encampment in a remote area in Patikul on Monday night in a continuing offensive to rescue the remaining captives in Sulu, resulting in the death of at least two bandits and the wounding of another one.

Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado, commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the shelling and the ensuing ground assault starting Monday night was part of the pursuit operations following the series of military assaults last week that left at least 25 bandits dead.

The same operation, it was recalled, also led to the escape and eventual rescue of two Coast Guard personnel who were abducted by the ASG in Dapitan City a few months ago.

“We conducted search and destroy operation in the area. We delivered artillery fires before our ground troops entered the enemy position,” said Arrojado, regerring to Barangays Tanum and Sandah in Patikul town.

“The target was the wounded ASG as confirmed by our intelligence reports which states that most of the wounded ASG from the previous gunfight were recuperating there,” said Arrojado.

At the first delivery of artillery fires, Arrojado said the ASG rushed to attend to their wounded companions and tried to seek refuge on mountain slope in Sitio Pantay Minul in Barangay Tanum to avoid being hit.

But the ground troopers from the 35th Infantry Battalion repeatedly fired 81mm mortars on the mountain slopes to complement the artillery fires.

During the clearing operations, it was confirmed that the shelling and mortar fires killed at least two ASG men identified as Emmar Jamhari and Nasser Muhammad.

A certain Ammel Madjid, also an ASG member, was wounded.

The group is reportedly under ASG sub-commander Hatin Hakan Sawadjaan.

Seized in the ASG encampment were various personal belongings and a memory card which Arrojado described to be of intelligence value.

In an attempt to retaliate and delay the pursuit, some ASG men have started planting booby traps and improvised explosive device on their escape routes.

The military has started an intensified campaign against the ASG after the group beheaded a barangay captain abducted along with the two rescued Coast Guard men.

Intelligence reports revealed that there are aome 200 ASG men in Sulu, led by various subcommanders but the bulk is under Radullan Sahiron and Yasser Igasan.

The groups is currently holding at least five captives, including foreigners that include a Malaysian and a South Korean.