ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – At least 22 Abu Sayyaf gunmen have been killed in continuing military operations in Patikul, Sulu that started on Friday, following President Duterte’s orders to crush the bandit group.
Brig. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS) commander, yesterday reported no casualty among the troops in the encounter with the bandits.
The combined troops from the Army and its elite Scout Rangers launched an attack an Abu Sayyaf stronghold in Barangay Latih on Saturday, killing three militants.
The troops gave chase to the more than a hundred Abu Sayyaf gunmen that managed to escape following the clash on Friday in Barangay Bungkaong.
Last Friday’s encounter left 11 militants dead, including Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Mohammad Said, alias Ama Maas, who is wanted for murder.
Eight other bandits were confirmed dead, based on reports from troops retrieving the bodies of the dead militants at the scene of the firefight.
Dela Vega said the soldiers also recovered high-powered assault rifles, including an M203 grenade launcher, from the slain rebels.
Initial reports said two hostages were rescued by the troops while another was freed by the bandits during the military operation.
There were no reports, however, that the military was able to locate Norwegian Kjartan Sikkengstad, who was still held captive by the Abu Sayyaf.
A number of hostages are still being held by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, including Sekkingstad, Indonesian sailors and Dutch birdwatcher Ewold Horn who was kidnapped in the high seas off Tawi-Tawi in February 2012.
Said was involved in the kidnapping of the Norwegian in September last year. Two other captives taken with Sekkingstad – Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall – were beheaded earlier this year.
They were taken from Samal Island, along with Maritess Flor who was released in July.
President Duterte had ordered the military to run after the Abu Sayyaf following the beheading of James Patrick Almodovar last week.
The Abu Sayyaf kidnapped Almodovar last July 16 outside his home in Jolo.
The bandits beheaded the 18-year-old after the deadline to pay P1-million ransom lapsed Wednesday afternoon.
Responding to the incident, President Duterte vowed on Thursday to annihilate the bandit group.
“My order to the police and to the armed forces: seek them out in their lairs and destroy them,” he said.
Duterte has given the military full support to run after the Abu Sayyaf, calling on government forces to kill the bandits down “to the last man.”
He said there would come “a day of reckoning” with the bandit group.
On top of the 5,000 troops already based in Sulu and 2,500 in Basilan, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has pulled out troops from the Visayas, Luzon and other areas of Mindanao and deployed them to the two island provinces with the specific mission to seek and destroy the Abu Sayyaf.
Duterte had warned that terror groups like the Abu Sayyaf would remain the biggest threat to the country in the next decade.
The United States and the Philippines have both listed the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for kidnappings, beheadings and bombings.
The bandit group emerged in the early 1990s as an extremist offshoot of the decades-long separatist rebellion in Mindanao. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe