Lt Col Harold “Harry” M Cabunoc (Inf) PA. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Two Philippine Army soldiers and six Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were killed in a fierce firefight between Joint Task Group Sulu and around 300 members of the terror group in Patikul, Sulu province, on Thursday.
Fifteen soldiers, including two company commanders, and 10 Abu Sayyaf members were wounded.
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office chief, did not identify the casualties. He said the Abu Sayyaf members were under Hatib Sawadjaan and Radulan Sahiron.
Col. Alan Arrojado, Task Group Sulu commander, said 32nd Infantry Battalion troopers under Lt. Col. Gregorio Nieveras were on patrol near Bud Bagsak when they spotted the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in Sitio Nangka, Barangay Gata.
The soldiers engaged the terrorists.
Arrojado deployed additional forces to reinforce the heavily engaged troops.
“Our forward observer was able to effectively direct artillery fire toward the enemy positions causing more casualties on the enemy side,” he said.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. ordered the Western Mindanao Command to pursue the bandits in Basilan and Sulu provinces.
Clearing operations were ongoing, with artillery support from the Army and air cover with attack helicopters provided by the Philippine Air Force.
“The firefight lasted for two hours resulting in a big number of casualties to the bandits,” Army spokesperson Capt. Rowena Muyuela told reporters.
The Abu Sayyaf, set up with seed fund from al-Qaida in the early 1990s, has been blamed for many of the deadliest militant attacks in the Philippines, including the 2004 fire bombing of a ferry on Manila Bay that claimed more than 100 lives.
A key leader of the group posted video footage of himself and other gunmen last year pledging allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq.
The Abu Sayyaf still holds six hostages, including European bird watcher Ewold Horn. With a report from AFP