AN Abu Sayyaf bandit was captured following a firefight between government troops and the terrorist group in Sulu on Monday.
Brig Gen. Alan Arrojado, commander of the military’s Joint Task Group Sulu, identified the bandit as Hatib Ullai Usman Namla, who was captured following the encounter at around 3:45 p.m. in Barangay Latih, Patikul, Sulu.
Namla, who yielded a caliber .45 pistol, was still undergoing debriefing at the headquarters of the Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Patikul as of press time.
Arrojado said the gun battle broke out after soldiers chanced upon a group of Abu Sayyaf bandits in Barangay Latih.
He said he had ordered other units in Sulu to reinforce the 35 IB as soldiers scour the adjoining villages for bandits who retreated after the 10-minute firefight.
The military is continuously operating against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other lawless groups in Sulu following the order of President Aquino to finish the ASG problem in the province.
The bandits are still holding more than eight kidnap victims, most of them foreigners, including two Canadians and a Norwegian.
A similar operation is also being conducted against the Abu Sayyaf bandits based in Basilan, which, from time to time, is harassing government troops.
Government forces are also operating against members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Liberation Front in Barangay Tee in Dato Salibo, Maguindanao, and its neigboring villages.
The government has just wrapped up its operations in Lanao del Sur, where it captured an encampment of a terrorist group in Barangay Bayabao. A Indonesian terrorist was killed in the operation.
Source: Rene Acosta, businessmirror.com.ph,
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