Troops kill Sayyaf supporter, recover IED in Basilan

SECURITY FORCES recovered an improvised explosive after killing an Abu Sayyaf supporter on Monday in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said.

Photos released by the military's Western Mindanao Command show the body of the slain Abu Sayyaf supporter Ajie Gomez and his weapons, including an improvised explosive recovered by security forces in his hideout in Basilan's Sumisip town.

Army Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, Jr., chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said soldiers and policemen killed Ajie Gomez in his hideout in Limbo Candis in Sumisip town.  

Rosario said security forces were searching Gomez’s hideout after receiving reports that he was spotted in the area carrying a home bomb and an automatic rifle. But instead of surrendering, Gomez tried to shoot soldiers and policemen and was gunned down.

“During the conduct of the search operation, the suspect Ajie Gomez resisted as he attempted to use his M16 rifle against the operating troops which prompted the government forces to retaliate,” Rosario said.

He said troops recovered a container of ANFO or ammonium nitrate/fuel oil connected to a battery and a tripwire, and his automatic rifle and two magazines loaded with bullets, and a revolver.

“The (military’s) Joint Task Force Basilan continues to heighten its security operations in areas infested by the terror group and other lawless elements to ensure the safety and security of the Basileños,” Rosario said. 

Brig. Gen. Domingo Gobway, commander of the Joint Task Force Basilan, said Gomez was a sympathizer of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Pasil Bayali, whose group is responsible for the series of bomb threats and extortion in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

It was unknown whether Gomez was also responsible for the death of a Muslim woman, Junayra Saad, in Sumisip town on January 11. Saad was killed in a bomb explosion after stepping a tripwire in Upper Benembengan village. Army soldiers are known to frequently patrol villages in the town. 

The victim’s family did not release any statement, but authorities have in the past blamed the Abu Sayyaf group for the spate of bombings and attacks on innocent civilians in Basilan.

Leaders of the Abu Sayyaf have pledged allegiance to the ISIS or Islamic State and vowed to fight for the establishment of a strict caliphate in the restive, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)