|
5 Abu Sayyaf members killed in Bohol firefight
[MALAYA.PH] FIVE members of the Abu Sayyaf...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... group were killed in a firefight with government forces in Inabanga town in Bohol yesterday. The government also had fatalities ‐ three soldiers and a policeman. The Armed Forces said it was determining why the Abu Sayyaf is in Bohol, a known tourist destination, when it operates mainly in Sulu and Basilan ...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts... . Sources said the group was out to carry out kidnappings in areas frequented by tourists. The incident occurred days before the second leg of ministerial meetings of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Panglao Island in Bohol, scheduled April 19 to 22. The delegates are due to discuss trade and economic issues. Lt. Col. Ericson Rosana, public affairs chief of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, said residents monitored the landing of gunnies aboard three pump boats on Monday night in Sitio Ilaya, Barangay Napo. Troops from the Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion and coppers were then deployed to the area. The troops caught up with the group at around 5 a.m., leading to the firefight. Rosana said a military aircraft launched an air strike against the group that had occupied three concrete houses. They have been cornered in an isolated part of the town. "They (Abu Sayyaf) are in a cordon area, the troops are waiting for an assault order," said Rosana, adding the enemy was still putting up resistance. Rosana said soldiers have recovered five enemy bodies in the area, along with three M16 and one M14 rifles and an improvised bomb. Aside from the three slain soldiers and a policeman, another soldier and another policeman were also injured in the fighting, he said. Posted by: Fred 2017-04-12 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=485584 |