ASG member killed, 3 cops hurt in Tawi-Tawi anti-terror operation

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil —Inquirer/Marianne Bermudez

MANILA, Philippines — A member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was killed while three police personnels were injured in a counter-terrorism operation in Tawi-Tawi on Tuesday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil confirmed the matter in a press conference, identifying the ASG member as a certain Udon Hasim.

“This person had 21 arrest warrants, 17 from murder and four for frustrated murder. So this is a highly valuable target. But during the firefight, three [of] our police were wounded but thankfully, were not in critical condition,” said Marbil.

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The PNP chief said two of Hasim’s cohorts were “hurt” due to the clash.

According to Marbil, PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Special Action Force led the implementation of the arrest warrant against Hasim.

The serving of the document led to a firefight which lasted for about 30 minutes.

To provide context on Hasim’s background, Marbil said the “highly valuable” ASG member was involved in the ambush that killed 23 civilians in Talipao, Sulu on July 28, 2013. He said apart from this, Hasim was also “involved in illegal drugs.”

“This is really a big accomplishment from our intelligence group, CIDG, SAF, and policemen in Tawi-Tawi as they succeeded in implementing these warrants of arrest,” said Marbil.