Peace Returns to Sulu: A Victory over Decades of Conflict

AFTER 30 years of conflict with the Philippine Army, the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), notorious for its campaign of violence in the southern Philippines, has been largely defeated. This milestone has ushered in an era of peace and development in the southernmost points of the Philippine archipelago.

No more ransom abductions at Sulu-Celebes Seas: Report

A library photo shows a US Navy vessel sailing off Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. 

(Photo by Al Jacinto)

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The ReCAAP has noticed that threat on abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas remained low and there has been no incident due to the successful military operations and robust law enforcement initiatives by the Philippines.

PNP Chief visits wounded cops in Zambo, awards medals

ZAMBOANGA CITY – National Police Chief Benjamin Acorda flew Thursday to this southern Filipino city and visited wounded police commandos whose unit clashed with an Abu Sayyaf fighter in Sulu province.

Crucifix desecrated in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Police were investigating Wednesday the shocking desecration of a crucifix at a chapel in the predominantly Muslim province of Basilan in southern Philippines, the second attack in two months.

Peace now reigns in Sulu

'Sulu is now Abu Sayyaf-free'

SULU - Philippine authorities have finally declared the whole of the southern province of Sulu as Abu Sayyaf-free after decades of fighting with officials saying the extremist Muslim group had been defeated.

MILF, Abu Sayyaf join forces in Basilan

'Police say MILF, Abu Sayyaf behind deadly ambush in Ungkaya Pukan town'

BASILAN - Police in the Muslim autonomous region have linked both the Abu Sayyaf and the former rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation in a deadly attack against a convoy of security forces escorting a town vice mayor in the southern province of Basilan. 

Soldier killed, 7 others wounded in Basilan (Sensitive Content Warning)

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Troops capture wives of terror leaders in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police commandos backed by army soldiers arrested three women with links to the pro-ISIS group Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said Saturday.

Gunmen raid army post in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Suspected Islamists attacked an army ranger post in the town of Ungkaya Pukan in the Muslim province of Basilan in southern Philippines sparking a gun battle that forced at least 300 people fleeing their homes to safety, police said.

Egyptian, Filipino jihadists surrender in southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Philippine military is holding a young Egyptian jihadist whose mother blew herself up in an attack on an army checkpoint in 2019 in the southern province of Sulu, officials said Friday.

2 terrorists killed in Basilan

BASILAN - The Philippine Army reported Wednesday the killing of two pro-ISIS fighters in a clash in the southern Muslim province of Basilan, south of here.

Philippines holds son of Indonesian suicide bombers

BASILAN - The Philippines is holding the 15-year old son of an Indonesian suicide bombers following an operation by security forces against pro-ISIS groups Dawlah Islamiya and Abu Sayyaf in the southern Muslim province of Basilan.

3 Sayyaf men surrender in Basilan, Sulu

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Three Abu Sayyaf terrorists surrendered separately to the Philippine Navy in the southern Muslim province of Basilan and Sulu with security officials saying the trio may be given amnesty under the government's Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program. 

Tight security in Basilan

BASILAN - Security forces have imposed tighter measures in the Muslim province of Basilan following the seizure of materials in the manufacture of improvised explosives from a man who engaged policemen and army soldiers in a gunfight in Lamitan City.

Sabah extends curfew due to kidnap threats

TAWI-TAWI – The Malaysian state of Sabah has extended anew its dusk-to-dawn sea curfew following fresh threats of ransom kidnappings from Abu Sayyaf and other criminal gangs.

Policeman wounded in Basilan attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY - A policeman was wounded after gunmen attacked a police barracks in the Muslim province of Basilan in southern Philippines, a known stronghold of radical Islamic militants fighting for the establishment of a caliphate in the restive region.

Sayyaf captor of mayor’s son captured in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Security forces captured an Abu Sayyaf terrorist linked to the 2018 random kidnapping of a municipal mayor’s town in southern Philippines.

ISIS still a threat in Southeast Asia

THE PHILIPPINES remains an attractive site for Islamic State (IS) operations now and in the future, Nikkei Asia quoted Mimi Fabe, a professor of financial terrorism at the National Police College of the Philippines, as saying.

13 Sayyafs surrender in Sulu

SULU - The Philippine military on Saturday said 13 Abu Sayyaf terrorists had surrendered in the southern province of Sulu with officials calling on other pro-ISIS gunmen to return to the fold of the law and live peacefully with their families.

AFP: 123 terrorists neutralized, 136 weapons seized in February

THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported that it had neutralized a total of 123 local terrorists and insurgents and captured 136 assorted weapons during a series of focused military and law enforcement operations in various parts of the country last February.