One of five soldiers killed in Sulu battle found beheaded

ZAMBOANGA CITY – One of the five soldiers killed in a clash with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu on Friday was beheaded, a military official said Saturday.

Colonel Allan Arrojado, commander of the Joint Task Group Sulu, refused to identify the slain soldiers but confirmed that “among the five, one was beheaded.”

At least 28 other soldiers, including an officer, were wounded in the fighting, which started in the municipality of Talipao in Sulu Friday afternoon, Arrojado said.

He said 10 Abu Sayyaf members were killed while 30 others were wounded.

He identified two of those killed as Abu Sayyaf sub-group leader Hairullah Asbang, whose body was recovered in the village of Bawisan, and Beting Jakka, a brother-in-law of Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron.

Major Maria Victoria Mandin, executive officer of the Don Basilio Navarro Hospital of the Western Mindanao Command, told reporters that 26 of the wounded soldiers were in “stable contiditon” but two had to be moved to the Ciudad Medical Center for treatment of more serious injuries.

She said majority of the wounded soldiers suffered shrapnel wounds “either from mortars or high caliber ammunition.”

Captain Maria Rowena Muyuela, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, said three big Abu Sayyaf groups merged as government forces mounted an operation against the bandits in the Bud Bungao area of Talipao.

The groups were led by Sahiron, Hatib Sawadjaan and Juli Ekit, she said.

Muyuela said the soldiers had a hard time penetrating the area and recovering the wounded personnel because the terrain was “thickly vegetated and not easily passable by vehicles.”

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