Sulu governor seeks answers on firefight incident

Sulu Gov. Abdusakur M. Tan

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan wants the military to explain how Marines searching for long-held hostages of the Abu Sayyaf ended up in a firefight with the terrorist group that resulted in four Marines killed (not three as earlier reported) and the wounding of 20 others in Patikul, Sulu, on Sunday.

“I want to know what happened. We are at the height of implementing Gabay Bayanihan, the internal peace and security plan, and suddenly they disrupt our peace in Sulu,” Tan said.

An undetermined number of families were displaced when Marines engaged in a six-hour clash with up to 200 fighters of the al-Qaeda-linked group in Barangay (village) Bakong.

Tan said he received different versions of the incident.

“If there are different versions, it means there is something wrong.”

According to Tan, Marine Battalion Landing Team 9 deputy commander Col. Romulo Quemado had said the soldiers were on routine rotation, while the Western Mindanao Command claimed they were in the area to check on reports the terrorists had their kidnap victims with them.  Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao; AP