3 soldiers wounded in Sayyaf clash

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Three soldiers were wounded in a clash with Abu Sayyaf militants in a remote village in Sulu’s Indanan town in southern Philippines, officials announced late Sunday.

Maj. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, commander of the 11^th Infantry Division and the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the fighting erupted in the village of Tumatangis earlier in the day. He said the fighting lasted about 30 minutes.

 

Patrimonio, quoting a report from Col. Giovanni Franza, commander of the 1102^nd Infantry Brigade, troops from the 100^th Infantry Battalion were dispatched to the area after receiving intelligence information on the presence of Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the village.

 

Franza said they deployed additional forces to run after the gunmen and block their possible escape routes. “We deployed additional forces to pursue the fleeing Abu Sayyafs and we alerted all nearest military and police patrol bases to conduct blocking and set up checkpoints to prevent their escape,” he said.

 

“While on their way to the area, they encountered an undetermined number of Abu Sayyafs under Radulan Sahiron and a firefight erupted and lasted for about 30 minutes, and thereafter, the enemy withdrew towards north,”Franza said, adding the clash left an undetermined number of enemy casualties.

  

One of the wounded soldiers was evacuated to a military hospital in Zamboanga City while the two others are in Camp Bautista Station Hospital in the capital town of Jolo, according to Patrimonio. “They are all in stable condition,” he said.

 

Patrimonio said villagers tipped off the military in the presence of the Abu Sayyaf militants. “I commend the courage and sacrifices of our soldiers on our efforts to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf bandits who continue to sow terror in a peaceful communities of Indanan. The tipping-off of the Abu Sayyafs’ presence by the community of Tumatangis which led us to encounter these bandits demonstrates their support to our peace and security campaign. I urged you to continue our efforts to neutralize the remaining ASG terrorists and deny them to execute their hostile plans,” he said. 

He also vowed to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. “To the Abu Sayyaf, we will be relentless in hunting you down. We have the support of the community and we will not cease until we bring lasting peace and sustainable development in Sulu. I therefore appeal for you to peacefully lay down your arms, go back to the folds of the law, start anew, and avail of the government's reintegration program,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)