ASG bandit killed; suicide bombers’ daughter rescued in Sulu

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 24, 2021): ASG bandit killed; suicide bombers’ daughter rescued in Sulu (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)

A member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was killed while a daughter of an Indonesian suicide bomber couple was rescued following a clash in the province of Sulu, military officials announced Thursday.

Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, Joint Task Force (JTF)-Sulu commander, said troops of the 45th Infantry Battalion and policemen were on joint law enforcement operation when they clashed with four ASG members around 11:55 p.m. Wednesday in Barangay Bangkal in Patikul town.

“They were supposed to serve a warrant of arrest against ASG member Rudymar Habib Jihiiran alias Gulam when our troops under the 1102nd Infantry Brigade were shot at by him and his comrades. A firefight ensued, which resulted in the death of an ASG bandit,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales, who is also the 11th Infantry Division commander, said the slain ASG bandit was only identified as a certain Sawi, a follower of ASG sub-leader Amah Patit.

He said the troops recovered from the hideout of Jihiiran a backpack containing bomb-making components that include an electric blasting cap, a 12-inches detonating cord, a pair of nine-volt batteries, and cellular phones.

At the same time, troops rescued the daughter of the Indonesian couple, who is being indoctrinated to become a suicide bomber, according to Gonzales.

Lt. Col. Vicente Maborang, 45th Infantry Battalion commander, said she is the daughter of foreign terrorist couple Rullie Rian Zeke and Ulfa Handayani Saleh, both Indonesian and suicide bombers behind the 2019 bombing of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu.

Maborang said her sister, Rezky Fantasya Rullie alias Cici, also a suicide bomber, was arrested in October 2020 in Jolo.

He said troops are tracking down the whereabouts of Jihiiran and a companion who escaped at the height of the firefight in Barangay Bangkal, Patikul.

Gonzales said she is the wife of Jihiiran, although she is still a minor.

“We are in the process of validating but she is estimated to be 13 years of age. Still, we in the security sector have no choice but to coordinate with concerned agencies and act on this. She is married to a full pledged ASG, her older brother is an armed member under the Daulah Islamiyah group, and she is being groomed as a suicide bomber. There is a risk here," Gonzales said. “With regards her disposition, of course, we will just abide by what is prescribed by the law. We sincerely hope that she could be deracialized and have another chance at a decent life. Involving children in this kind of terroristic act is outright shameful and a clear violation of our existing laws.”

Maborang said they discovered the hideout of Jihiiran when they conducted Community Support Program in Barangay Bangkal, Patikul.

The government troops have neutralized seven foreign terrorists in Sulu since 2019.

The JTF-Sulu said that there are still two foreign terrorists in the province -- an Indonesian and an Egyptian -- who are both minors.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1144863