Five JI members are also targets of all-out offensive vs breakaway rebel group.
Government forces have clashed with Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members who were with al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu, military officials said.
Government forces have clashed with Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members who were with al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu, military officials said.
In a progress military report emailed to Zambonga Today, Captain Antonio Bulao, public affairs officer of Joint Task Group Sulu, said earlier Thursday at 9:15 a.m. pursuing ground troops encountered the group of Abu Sayyaf sub leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, together with three JI Malaysian nationals at Sitio Kanjimaw, Barangay Tugas, Patikul town.
Bulao, however, did not say if the three Malaysians were among those casualties on the militants side.
Earlier, Western Mindanao Command spokeswoman, Capt. Rowena Muyuela, said that the number of Abu Sayyaf casualties on the Abu Sayyaf side climbed to 51 in the clash in Sulu which started Wednesday morning.
“We also received information that Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan was wounded and we are validating said report,” she added.
Muyuela also said that troops suffered two killed in action and sixteen wounded in action since Wednesday’s skirmishes by the government troops against the Abu Sayyaf militants.
According to Colonel Alan Arrojado, commander of Joint Task Group Sulu, “The engaging troops were immediately provided blocking forces and reinforcement from Army and Marine units. Likewise, the policel conducted blocking and checkpoint operations along routes of possible withdrawal and extrication of Abu Sayyaf casualties.”
Arrojado said the fresh (latest) firefight lasted for fifteen minutes. “There were several traces of blood seen along the enemy’s route of withdrawal indicating that the Abu Sayyaf group suffered heavy casualties.”
Military troops together with the PNP and LGU are relentlessly pursuing these bandits who are responsible in the series of kidnappings and other related criminalities which compromises the peace and order in Sulu province and its adjacent areas, Arrojado said.
Thursday’s clash in Sulu occurred a month after a covert police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, resulted in the killing of wanted Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, a Jemaah Islamiyah operative linked to the deadly bombing in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002.
The operation, however, led to a firefight with Moro rebels in the area where over 60 people, including 44 policemen, were killed.
Meanwhile, Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero told ABS-CBN the all-out offensive against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters launched Wednesday also targets some members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
Guerrero said five JI militants are being protected by the BIFF in exchange for training in bomb-making.
He identified the suspected terrorists as Mahmud Bin Ahmad, a former lecturer at the University Malaya Islamic Studies and a member of a group in Malaysia that supports the Islamic State; Mohd Najib Bin Husen, a former businessman; Mohammad Juraimee Binawang Raimee, a former employee at the Selayang Municipal Council in Malaysia; and, Jeknal Adil and Mohammad Baco, who allegedly help in training Abu Sayyaf members in bomb-making.
“The BIFF is coddling five JI members who have been hiding hiding in Basilan, Sulu and Central Mindanao,” he said. “We have intensified our operations to locate and arrest the foreign bomb-makers.
The Abu Sayyaf is the smallest but most deadly of several Muslim groups fighting for independence in the south of the Roman Catholic country. It is estimated to have about 500 hard-core followers based mostly on Basilan and Sulu.
The group, which has links with Jemaah Islamiah, a pan-Asian radical group blamed for attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombings and two Jakarta hotel bombings last month, is still holding several kidnap victims including foreigners and Filipinos.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.