GOVERNMENT forces killed a foreign terrorist and two Abu Sayyaf bandits in a clash in the hinterlands of Sulu, the military reported Saturday, April 17, 2021.

Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan, Jr., Western Mindanao Command chief, said the clash happened around 10:45 p.m. Friday in Igasan village, Patikul, Sulu.

Vinluan said the clash broke out as the troops chanced upon a group of Abu Sayyaf bandits under Mudzrimar Sawadjaan while conducting focused military operations in Igasan.

The firefight lasted for about 10 minutes. The Abu Sayyaf bandits fled after, leaving behind the remains of a certain Yusop, an Egyptian, and two Abu Sayyaf bandits identified as Abu Khattab Jundullah alias Saddam, a trained bombmaker, and a certain alias Akram.

Vinluan said Yusop was one of the five remaining foreign terrorists monitored in Sulu. Like Yusop, the other four foreign terrorists were also Egyptians.

Yusop was the stepson of Abduramil, an Egyptian, who was neutralized by troops in Indanan, Sulu in November 2019, and son of Reda Mohammad Mahmud, alias Sitti Aiza, also an Egyptian, who perpetrated a suicide bombing attack at the Kilometer 3 Detachment in Indanan on September 2019, according to Vinluan.

The remains of the slain Egyptian and the two Abu Sayyaf bandits were brought to Camp General Teodulfo Bautista in Busbus village, Jolo, Sulu for proper disposition.

The troops recovered at the clash site three high-powered firearms with scope (one M653, one M203 and one R4), ammunition, two bandoliers, and personal belongings. (SunStar Zamboanga)