MNLF, Sayyaf clash in Sulu, 7 wounded

SULU – Seven members of the former rebel group Moro National Liberation Front were wounded in fierce clashes with the pro-ISIS group Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, the army said Monday.

It said the wounded were brought to a military hospital in the capital town of Jolo, but another was airlifted to Zamboanga City for medical care.

The fighting broke out near a village in Indanan town populated by the former rebel group after militants were spotted in the area, according to Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of the 11th Infantry Division.

The clash in Buanza village, which lasted over 40 minutes, occurred on April 24, but was only made public on Monday for a still unknown reasons. But Vinluan said the MNLF forces were assisting the military in maintaining peace in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region.

Vinluan lauded the MNLF efforts, saying, members of the former secessionist chaired by Nur Misuari, are pursuing the Abu Sayyaf. “I appreciate the contribution of the MNLF, as one of the groups advocating peace, in our efforts to secure the whole province for the betterment of every Suluanon,” he said.

Army photos show the MNLF casualities following a firefight with the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu's Indanan town.

A report by Col. Ignatius Patrimonio, commander of the 1102 Infantry Brigade in Sulu, also confirmed the fighting and said MNLF forces clashed with about 50 Abu Sayyaf gunmen under Tuan Annoh and Almadjan Sahidjuan, alias Apoh Mike, whose group was involved in cross-border kidnappings in Sabah, Malaysia.

Patrimonio said they received information that several Abu Sayyaf fighters were either killed or wounded.

No other details were provided by the military on the fighting, but it released several photos on Monday showing wounded MNLF members being taken care of by military doctors and nurses.

The Abu Sayyaf is being blamed for the killings of 12 soldiers and wounding of over a dozen more in recent fighting in Sulu’s Patikul town, a stronghold of the local terrorist group fighting for the establishment of a caliphate. (Zamboanga Post)

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