Detained Abu shot dead in escape try
A suspected Abu Sayyaf member arrested by Army elements in Tubigon, Bohol the other day was killed by his police escorts while allegedly trying to escape yesterday morning.
However, prior to his death, military authorities were able to extract vital information regarding the Abu Sayyaf plan in Bohol from slain 36-year-old suspect Saad Samad Kiram.
“When asked, Kiram volunteered valuable information about their plan, their composition and their capabilities. His revelations confirmed the dissolution of the threat in the province of Bohol,” said Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla.
Kiram was turned over to the police for transfer to the Bohol District Jail in Tagbilaran City.
However, along the way Kiram told his police escorts that he had a bum stomach and needed to go to the toilet.
The police vehicle then stopped at Cortez town at around 2 a.m.
Kiram ran off and the police conducted pursuit operations for two hours until the escorts cornered and gunned down the suspect at around 4 a.m., after he reportedly grabbed the gun of one of the policemen who re-arrested him.
Col. Medel Aguilar, Cebubased Central Command spokesman, said Kiram’s death is an unfortunate incident since the detainee is expected to reveal more information on the Abu Sayyaf’s plans in Bohol.
Aguilar said the police treated Kiram well, feeding him and giving him enough time to rest, following his arrest by Army troops at Barangay Tan-awan, Tubigon, Thursday morning after concerned residents informed the military of the presence of the Abu Sayyaf suspect.
Kiram was among the Abu Sayyaf bandits led by their notorious leader, Maummar Askali, alias Abu Rami, who landed in Inabanga, Bohol from Sulu on board three speedboats last month, reportedly to kidnap local and foreign tourists.
The bandits’ presence in Bohol triggered heavy fighting between responding Army troops and the bandits, resulting in the killing of Abu Rami and three of his followers.
Two civilians were also killed in the fighting.
Four other Abu Sayyaf bandits were later killed in Clarin town.
Army troops also intercepted female police officer Supt. Maria Cristina Nobleza along with her lover and Abu Sayyaf member Reneer Lou Dongon in Clarin while they were reportedly out to rescue a certain Saad, who authorities said could be the slain Kiram.
“Why he tried to escape and attempted to grab the firearm of one of the police officers who rearrested him was his personal decision. His death was the result of his offensive action against the people in authority,” Aguilar said.
With Kiram’s death, only two more bandits are being hunted by combined security forces in Bohol.
Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, Police Regional Office-7 director, said they are investigating the death of Kiram.
Bohol police director Senior Supt. Felipe Natividad explained that Kiram’s transfer was in preparation for his inquest proceedings for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
“We don’t have a proper detention cell in our camp here in Bohol,” Natividad told radio dzBB.
Manhunt operations are underway for two more Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Natividad said they have leads on their locations but declined to give details.
Tourists visiting prime destinations in the Visayas region need not worry about security.
Maj. Gen. Jon Aying, chief of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, disclosed that they have not monitored any movements of Abu Sayyaf bandits from Mindanao to the Visayas, except for those they had encountered and killed in Bohol last month.
23 bandits yield
Twenty-three self-confessed Abu Sayyaf members, including two sub-leaders in Basilan, surrendered to the military last week.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said a total of 40 Abu Sayyaf bandits have so far surrendered since January this year.
The all-out offensives launched by the Joint Task Forces of the Western Mindanao Command have forced the Abu Sayyaf to lay down their arms and yield to the military in Basilan and Sulu in just one week.
Yesterday, the AFP said 19 members of the terrorist group surrendered to the Joint Task Force (JTF) Basilan under Col. Juvymax Uy.
They included Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders Nur Hassan Lahaman and Mudz-Ar Angkun, who surrendered to the Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Tumahubong, Sumisip, Basilan.
The bandits yielded through the joint efforts of JTF Basilan, Basilan Provincial Police Office and Sumisip Mayor Gulam Hataman.
The bandits also turned over nine high-powered firearms that included one caliber .50 sniper rifle, one M16 rifle, one M79 40mm grenade launcher, five Garand rifles and one caliber .30 Springfield rifle.
The AFP said Angkun’s group operated in Sumisip while the group of Lahaman was based in Tuburan in Basilan.
Also yesterday, four other Abu Sayyaf members identified as Patta Salapuddin, 53; Asbi Salapuddin, 32; Sayyadi Salapuddin, 31; and Arci Salapuddin, 20, all residents of Barangay Basakan, Hadji Mohammad Ajul, Basilan, surrendered to the AFP.
The group turned over two M16 rifles and an M79 launcher.
The Salapuddin brothers are linked to Abu Sayyaf subleader Alhabsy Misaya and were allegedly involved in the recent seajacking of the M/V Super Shuttle on March 23, 2017.
The AFP said the 19 Abu Sayyaf members who surrendered in Basilan are now undergoing debriefing by the Basilan provincial police.
A week ago, four other Abu Sayyaf members yielded to the Joint Task Force Sulu under Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana in Sulu.