TROOPS killed a suspected sub-group leader and a member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in separate encounters in Sulu on Friday morning, November 20, 2020, the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) said.
Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jr., Wesmincom commander, said troops from the Marine Battalion Landing Team-1 (MBLT-1) were conducting combat operations in Barangay Kawasan at 5:45 a.m. when they encountered the group of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Hatib Munap Binda.
The firefight lasted for around 30 minutes which resulted in the killing of Binda, whose body was found at the scene. Troops also recovered one M16 rifle and an M14 rifle.
Vinluan said Binda was the senior leader of the terror group operating in the municipalities of Kalingalan Caluang and Panamao in Sulu.
He had been a member of the group since 2002 and was associated with Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Alhabsi Misaya, who is involved in the series of kidnapping incidents in the tri-boundaries of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Around an hour later, at around 6:45 a.m., soldiers clashed with the group of Sansibar Bensio a few meters away from the first encounter site.
Killed in the 20-minute clash was Bensio Barahama, Bensio’s father who was operating in the areas of Panamao, Omar and Luuk.
"Our good intelligence operations yielded to these positive results and we are grateful that no one from our side was injured during the operations," Colonel Marvin Salvan, commanding officer of the MBLT-1, said.
Vinluan assured that troops in Sulu will 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.” (SunStar Philippines)