Armed men killed, captured in Zamboanga Sibugay

PULACAN, Zamboanga del Sur – Soldiers and policemen on Thursday killed a suspected member of an armed group engaged in kidnapping while another suspect was captured following a brief firefight in Kabasalan town in Zamboanga Sibugay, the military said Friday.

Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, the spokesperson of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, told the Inquirer that the firefight ensued when soldiers and policemen responded to an information about the presence of armed men in the coastal village of Salipyasin.

Herrera identified the slain suspect as Samuhong Ahod while the captured one was identified as Akmad Dapat. Dapat has since been placed under the custody of the police.

The other suspects managed to flee, he said.

Also recovered from the site of the clash were a .38 caliber revolver, ammonium nitrate – a bomb-making component–detonating cord, blasting cap and a motorized outrigger.

Herrera said the group that Ahod and Dapat belonged to had ties with the Abu Sayyaf and operates in the areas of the Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan and Sulu. Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao/rga