Sayyaf bomb expert slain in Basilan

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — An alleged bomb expert of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group was killed in an encounter in Basilan on Saturday night.

Mudzrimar Sawadjaan, alias Mundi, was about to flee Basilan in a motorized banca when a team of military coastal patrollers intercepted him in the waters off Tuburan town, according to Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, chief of the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade based in Basilan.

A firefight ensued and resulted in the death of Mundi, who was said to be an Abu Sayyaf subleader based in Sulu and a member of international terrorist group Islamic State.

Troopers turned over Mundi’s remains to his relatives and village officials.

Luzon said Mundi was last spotted in June in Sumisip town after the bandit fled Sulu with an Indonesian teenager who was to be trained by the group for suicide bombing.

Army troopers rescued the Indonesian teenager and killed Abu Sayyaf leader Pasil Bayali, while Sawadjaan was able to escape.

The Indonesian teen was deported.

The military described Sawadjaan as the last threat from the Abu Sayyaf after soldiers eradicated the group’s forces and declared the province bandit-free in October.

The military said Mundi was a notorious terrorist, bomb expert and mastermind of suicide bombings in Sulu.

It said among Mundi’s atrocities were the bombing of the Jolo Cathedral in 2019 and the twin attacks in downtown Jolo in 2020 that killed 14 people and wounded 75 others, mostly soldiers and police.

Maj. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, chief of the Joint Task Force Orion, commended Luzon and his men for their efforts to keep Basilan peaceful and the people safe.

The Joint Task Force Orion oversees the Basilan counterterrorism operations.