2 Abus slain in Sulu clash
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Troops killed two Abu Sayyaf bandits in a half-hour firefight as the Army scoured the mountains of Patikul, Sulu to flush out the terrorists.
Col. Rodrigo Gregorio, Joint Task Force Sulu spokesman, said the figures have brought the latest Abu Sayyaf casualties to 32 killed and an undetermined number wounded.
Troops from 35th and 21st Infantry Battalions encountered 30 Abu Sayyaf bandits about 2:35 p.m. Tuesday, he added.
Gregorio said Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders Jamiri Jaong Jawhari and Basaron Arok led the band, which troops from the 45th IB encountered earlier on the same day in Barangay Danag.
“The Abu Sayyaf band was running away after the initial encounter, but the blocking forces of 35th and 21st Infantry Battalions encountered them,” he said.
Gregorio said reports gathered from civilians in the vicinity confirmed that two dead Abu Sayyaf bandits were carried away for burial, while several others were wounded as they fled from the firefight.
Lt. Gen. Mayoralgo de la Cruz said battalions of troops were engaging every band of the Abu Sayyaf. “We have to wear them out,” he said. “If they are sighted while running away on pursuit they will face a battery of cannons,” he said.
De la Cruz said no Abu Sayyaf reinforcement has been monitored so far.
“In fact they were trying to run away,” he said.
Ground commander Brig. Gen. Arnel de la Vega said their priority is the safe rescue of victims and the protection of local communities in Sulu from the terrorists and criminals.
Local residents are gradually helping in protecting their own communities against the Abu Sayyaf, he added.
De la Vega was confident that more people in Sulu, including local government officials, community and religious leaders, would cooperate in providing timely and accurate information to stop the un-Islamic and barbaric acts of the Abu Sayyaf.
“We call on the Abu Sayyaf to stop these kidnappings and killings which are all violations of the Quran and against Islam as pointed out by Islamic scholars worldwide,” he said.