Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan – Troops of the 18th Infantry Battalion clashed anew with Abu Sayaff Bandits 9:40 PM (local time) last night in Barangay Umalon, Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan.
The fire fight that raged heavily for an hour and waged on for about two more hours resulted in the death of one ASG member whose body was recovered and is set to be turned over to proper authorities and later to his family so that he will be given appropriate burial in accordance with their cultural and religious tradition . This put the running total of ASG members killed at 32. Troops scouring the encounter site also found many personal belongings. The battle site was also littered with blood which indicates that many of them were wounded or probably died. Soldiers suffered four slightly wounded but are still capable to fight and opted to stay with the operating troops after being given first aid by combat medics.
Col. Rolando Bautista, Brigade Commander of 104th Infantry Brigade which covers the operational area said the fire fight is a result of the “intensified counter violent extremism effort of the AFP to protect civilian communities in Basilan.”
Bautista underscored the bravery and dedication of the engaged troops as the slightly wounded soldiers refused to be evacuated and opted to help in securing vulnerable communities against terrorist threats.
Relatedly, local government officials from different municipalities in Basilan met with Col. Bautista and other military officers in Ungkaya Pukan 7pm to 9pm of the same night to discuss the overall situation, device mechanism to protect communities and efficiently implement government aid to affected families and individuals.
Col. Bautista said, “This is part of our continuing collaborative effort between military and civilian authorities to address people’s needs at the short term and to achieve peaceful resolution of armed conflict at the long term”.
Meanwhile a media center is set to be established at the 104th Infantry Brigade Headquarters in Tabiawan, Isabela City to address the needs of Basilan based local media in bringing news to the people while considering their safety. International, National and Zamboanga based media will continue be given periodic update at the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.
This set up was created to fully cater the needs of different media outfits without sacrificing the safety of reporters and their crew.
http://dwdd.com.ph/2015/51174-2/
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