COMPOSITE ground
forces pounded several lairs of terrorist groups and other lawless elements in
Sulu on Wednesday, sparking skirmishes that officials said likely resulted in
enemy casualties.
The attacks came
following the reported presence of Jemaah Islamiyah militants in Mindanao who were said to have established partnerships
with the Abu Sayyaf bandits and Muslim rebel factions with links to the Islamic
State.
Brig. Gen. Alan
Arrojado, commander of the military’s Joint Task Group Sulu, said the ground assaults
occurred after troops from the 32nd Infantry Battalion detected a massing of
Abu Sayaff elements in Darayan village in Patikul, Sulu, around 10 p.m.
Wednesday.
The Abu Sayyaf
has used Darayan, a coastal village in the northwestern portion of Sulu, as a
safekeeping area for the foreign and local hostages taken from Mindanao and Malaysia
Darayan has also
been the scene of fierce fighting between Abu Sayyaf bandits and soldiers in
the past two years.
After pounding
the Abu Sayyaf positions on Wednesday, Arrojado said, soldiers directed
artillery fire at an Abu Sayyaf encampment reportedly occupied by 300 heavily
armed terrorists.
Troops found
bloodstains and damaged rifles at the Abu Sayyaf camps during clearing
operations after the fighting subsided, Arrojado said.
He said the
military recovered no bodies from the scene, but troops from the 1st and 4th
Scout Ranger Battalions were still conducting operations against the bandits.
http://www.thestandard.com.ph/news/-main-stories/top-stories/193547/military-assaults-terrorist-lairs.html
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