Suspected Abu Sayyaf sub- leader, member killed in Sulu

SULU: A suspected Abu Sayyaf sub-leader and another member of the local terrorist group were killed following separate encounters in Sulu early Friday, regional military officers said.

The Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command said the first clash was in Panamao, Sulu.

According to WestMinCom chief Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jr, soldiers from the Marine Battalion Landing Team-1 (MBLT-1) were conducting combat operations in Barangay Kawasan at 5.45am when they encountered the group of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Hatib Munap Binda.

Vinluan said the clash lasted for 30 minutes. He said the troops recovered Binda’s body as well as one M16 rifle and a M14 rifle.

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Vinluan said Binda was the senior leader of the terror group operating in the municipalities of Kalingalan Caluang and Panamao, Sulu.

He added that Binda was a member of the group since 2002 and was an associate of the late Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Alhabsi Misaya during the conduct of a series of kidnapping incidents in the tri-boundaries of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

In a separate incident, troops encountered the group of Sansibar Bensio at 6:45 a.m., a few meters away from the previous encounter site.

Colonel Marvin Salvan, commanding officer of the MBLT-1, said the firefight ensued for 20 minutes which resulted in the death of one Bensio Barahama.

A M14 rifle was recovered by the operating troops, Salvan said.

“Our good intelligence operations yielded to these positive results and we are grateful that no one from our side was injured during the operations,” Salvan said.

Vinluan said Barahama was the father of Abu Sayyaf leader Sansibar Bensio and was operating in the areas of Panamao, Omar and Luuk.

Joint Task Force Sulu chief Major General William Gonzales tasked all military units in Sulu to remain “vigilant and resilient in eliminating the remaining terrorists who refuse to cooperate with us and continue to inflict terroristic activities in the peaceful communities.”

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“Rest assured that we will continue to work hard to end terrorism here in the beautiful island province of Sulu,” Gonzales said. – GMA News

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