3 killed in Sulu clash

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Two Abu Sayyaf terrorists and a government soldier were killed in a clash in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, an army commander said Wednesday.

A photo released by the Joint Task Force Sulu shows Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the 11th Infantry Division, receiving an 18-year old Abu Sayyaf fighter who surrendered along with another terrorist in Sulu's Patikul town. 

A photo released by the Joint Task Force Sulu shows Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the 11th Infantry Division, as he gestures during the surrender of two Abu Sayyaf fighters in Sulu's Patikul town where two terrorists and a soldier were killed in a clash with the group of terrorist leader Radulan Sahiron. 

Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the 11^th Infantry Division, made the announcement following the surrender of two Abu Sayyaf fighters in Patikul town. 

He said the duo were followers of terrorist leader Radulan Sahiron, whose group clashed with troops that killed Cpl. Jonald Casing.

“(Members of the) 45^th Infantry Battalion and our Special Forces recently had an encounter with the group of Sahiron. Our intelligence officers tell us that two bandits were killed during the firefight, but unfortunately one of our soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice. His name is Cpl Jonald S Casing,” Gonzales said.

 

“Although this loss deeply hurt us, we honor Jonald by accepting ASG members who are ready to start anew. We forgive so that we can end the cycle of violence. As for those who are insisting on this senseless violent extremism, we will continue to do our job until our mission is fully realized,” he added.

 

Gonzales said the two terrorists who surrendered to the army also yielded a grenade launcher and an automatic rifle.

 

One of them, now 18 years old, told the military that the Abu Sayyaf recruited him when he was 12. His companion is 31 and both surrendered peacefully after learning about the government’s peace and development campaign under the Task Force in the province which offers livelihood and financial aids to Abu Sayyaf members returning to the fold of the law under the Provincial and Municipal Task Forces in Ending Local Armed Conflict organized by Gov. Sakur Tan.

 

Sulu has previously declared the Abu Sayyaf and its supporters as “persona non grata.”

 

President Rodrigo Duterte has previously sought Tan to help him talk peace, but at the same time he ordered security forces to crush the Abu Sayyaf, blamed for the spate of bombings in Sulu that killed soldiers and innocent civilians in the past years. Aside from Tan, Duterte also spoke to Nur Misuari, chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front, to support the government’s peace efforts in the South. (Mindanao Examiner)