3 Abu Sayyaf bandits slain

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Three Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed while three soldiers were wounded in a clash in Tuburan town, Basilan province, on Sunday dawn.

Col. Rolando Bautista, chief of the Joint Task Group Basilan, said an operation in Barangay Campo Dos in Lamitan City was conducted to get Abdul Hassan Tanadjalun alias “Bullet.”

“As the troops were approaching the area, they were fired upon by the group,” Bautista said.

In the pursuit operations that followed, government troops clashed with at least 15 bandits in Lower Sinangkapan in Tuburan.

After the encounter, the troops recovered three bodies, including that of Tanadjalun.

Tanadjalun, also known as Bullet, Rey Cuebas Santos and Arian Sapii, was a member of the Abu Sayyaf’s urban terror group operating in Lamitan and Tuburan.

He was involved in kidnapping and extortion, Bautista said.

Capt. Maria Rowena Muyuela, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, said three soldiers wounded in the clash were brought to the hospital. Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao