UPDATE: Troops clash with Abu Sayyaf-linked group in Sulu
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2019 07:39:17 +0000
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Troops clashed with a band of Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippine province of Sulu where security forces are on a mission to crush the brutal pro-IS group blamed by authorities for deadly twin bombings on a cathedral in the capital town of Jolo.
There was no immediate report of enemy casualties as security forces continue to pursue the militants in their own stronghold of Patikul town. The military offensives, however, also forced villagers to flee their homes in Latih and Bungkaong.
In Manila, Col. Gerry Besana, spokesman of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, said the encounter with the Ajang-Ajang started at 7:20 a.m. at Barangay Latih.
The Ajang-Ajang group is composed of members who are in their 20s and 30s and who run errands for their superiors in the Abu Sayyaf.
Besana also said that the gunfight lasted for about five minutes.
Pursuit operations are ongoing.
No casualties have been reported as of posting time.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the offensives after visiting Jolo following the attacks on Our Lady of Mount Carmel that killed 21 people and wounded about 100 others.
Citing military and other intelligence reports, Duterte claimed the bombers were a man and woman, probably foreigners. Other reports suggested the bombers were a Yemeni couple or Indonesian nationals.
Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) visited 36 of the wounded victims and provided them with P20,000 for their medical needs, according to ARMM Social Welfare Secretary Laisa Alamia.
A total of P400,000 was also earmarked as initial assistance for the victims of the twin bombings and another P500,000 for the repair of the damaged cathedral.
Alamia said dozens of families displaced by the military offensives were provided food aid. “So far, the DSWD-ARMM has monitored around 62 families displaced from Barangay Bungkaong and Latih in Patikul. We have started distributing relief goods to the IDPs or internally displaced persons. The number of IDPs is expected to increase in the coming days. The DSWD ARMM will continue to provide assistance to the IDPs until they can safely return to their homes,” she said.
Sulu Governor Abdusakur “Toto” Tan also dispatched social workers to look into the welfare of the displaced villagers. He ordered the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to conduct distribution of relief goods to those affected by the military campaign.
On Thursday, Tan along with security officials, also met with representatives of different sectors in Sulu and discussed the on-going military campaign and guidelines on checkpoints and strict implementation of martial law in the province. AL JACINTO, DEMPSEY REYES
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