Troops kills Abu Sayyaf bandit in Jolo

ZAMBOANGA City, Philippines - Government security forces killed a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and captured another during an operation Saturday in downtown Jolo, Sulu province, a security official said Monday.

Col. Jose Joriel Cenabre, commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said security forces from the Jolo Internal Defense Force (JIDF) caught the two suspects in the act of extorting money from a restaurant at around 2:15 p.m.

Cenabre said that the bandits fired at the approaching security forces which resulted in a firefight.

Authorities have yet to identify the slain and captured bandits.

Cenabre said that the captured suspect, wounded in the firefight, was given medical treatment before being turned over to the Jolo Municipal Police Station for detention.