THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command is looking for two more alleged suicide bombers who remain at large in Sulu.
Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, Wesmincom commander, said on Tuesday, September 10, said they will make sure that the two alleged terrorists would not be able to leave Sulu.
“’Yung dalawa they are still at large ano, ito ‘yung subject ng manhunt on top of our ongoing focused military operations, intensified ‘yung ating operating sa mga ginagawa nila pero dito dito lang to nakafocus sa ano, isolated lang naman to dito sa Sulu,” he said in a phone interview with reporters.
(The two are still at large. They are the subject of our manhunt on top of our ongoing focused operations.)
“Nasa Sulu monitoring, hindi namin palalabasin to kasi medyo mahirap na, magkaroon kasi ng opportunity in other areas, but ang kagandahan nito, wala silang support outside Sulu kaya I think they cannot launch hostilities, binabantayan naman din natin ng husto itong pwede nilang magiging outlet,” he added.
(We are not letting them out of Sulu. The nice thing about this is that they don't have support outside Sulu so they cannot launch hostilities.)
Earlier, Sobejana said five suicide bombers were assigned by terrorists to stage attacks in Sulu.
Not counting the couple of alleged suicide bombers who attacked Jolo Cathedral in January 2019, Sobejana said they have accounted for three suspected suicide bombers.
Two, including the first known Filipino suicide bomber, were killed during the June 28, 2019 attack on the tactical command post of the Philippine Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team in Indanan while the third was killed during the attack Sunday, September 8, 2019, at a detachment in Barangay Tagbak, also in Indanan.
Sobejana said the terrorists are targeting military instillations as form of retaliation.
“Talagang gusto nilang gumanti dahil malaki ang setback nila with our relentless focused military focused operations,” he said.
Meanwhile, AFP Wesmincom spokesperson Major Arvin Encinas urged the public to be more aware and conscious of what is happening in their surroundings and to immediately report to the authorities and suspicious activities in their communities.
“If may nakikita tayong di kaaya-aya sa ating paligid, it should be reported immediately sa ating mga authority, considering, the security is not the sole responsibility ng ating security forces. It is everybody's concern,” he said.
“Sa part naman ng security forces, ‘yung monitoring natin sa lahat ng mga threat groups, constant communication sa ating mga community, engagement sa LGU dahil sila yung mas na kakilala sa kanilang constituents,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)