Abu Sayyaf leader separated from group after firefight with military

A commander of the Abu Sayyaf with a $1-million bounty on his head was separated from his group after a firefight with the military on Thursday.

Radullan Sahiron, one of the most senior leaders of the ASG, was reportedly separated from the “main group,” Armed Forces public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc told reporters on Friday.

“The Joint Task Group Sulu has received a report that Sahiron is separated from the main group and we are now looking for them,” he said.

Sahiron is between 60 to 70 years old, Cabunoc said.

The Abu Sayyaf leader is included on the list of one of the most wanted terrorists of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has a $1-million bounty on his head.

The military clashed with as many as 300 bandits on Thursday in Barangay Gata in Talipao. Two soldiers were killed and 15 were wounded from the firefight.

As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, Cabunoc said the deaths from the Abu Sayyaf rose to nine from the initial six.

Fourteen from the bandits were wounded.

“They were having a gathering. There were festivities and when they launch a massive attack they converge,” Cabunoc said when asked why there were hundreds of Abu Sayyaf present in the encounter.

The military has been doing all-out law enforcement operations against the Abu Sayyaf since October after the release of its two German captives for a reported ransom of P250 million. RC