Soldiers, Abu Sayyaf bandits fight in Sumisip, Basilan

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Government troops and Abu Sayyaf clashed on Tuesday morning in Sumisip, Basilan.

Capt. Maria Rowena Muyuela, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, said the fighting started at 11 a.m. in Sitio Penas in Barangay (village) Pamatsaken.

“Our troops were conducting law enforcement operations when they clashed with 25 bandits,” Muyuela said of the firefight that lasted 15 minutes. She said the bandits were led by Juhaibel Alamsirul alias Abu Kik.

The military could not say if the bandits suffered casualties.

But Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv Hataman said he was “told there were casualties on the part of the ASG but it (the report) is still subject for validation.”

Hataman said prior to the clash, other armed groups like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front, two rebel fronts in peace processes with the Philippine government, were advised to remain in their respective areas to “avoid a mis-encounter.”