2 killed, 8 wounded in ASG fighting in Sulu
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sun, 26 May 2019 11:57:07 +0000
ZAMBOANGA CITY: Two children were reported killed and eight others wounded, including five soldiers, in fierce clashes with Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits in patikul, Sulu.
The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) said at least 30 ASG bandits clashed with Special Forces troops in Barangay (village) Igasan in Patikul.
Troops were deployed in the area after receiving reports that the ASG attacked a community there and killed two children and wounded three others.
It said the weekend fighting lasted for half an hour as six bandits were allegedly killed, but the military did not say if troops recovered the bodies of the slain enemies under ASG leader Mundi Sawadjaan.
The military said soldiers from the 13th Special Forces Company under 2nd Lt. Christian Capiz also assisted the villagers in vacating the area.
Brig. Gen. Peter Angelo Ramos, commander of the 1102nd Infantry Brigade, condemned the ASG attack on civilians, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
“The desperate Abu Sayyaf attack against the innocent civilians is a total disrespect to the tenets of Islam as a religion of peace and a blatant disregard in the observance of the holy month of Ramadan,” he said, recalling how the bandits also targeted a medical mission and police officers escorting government teachers in Patikul last February that left two Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel wounded.
Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo Jr., who heads the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the bandits attacked the civilians on suspicion that they were providing information to the military about the group.
“They were furious even to their own families whom they suspected of collaborating with our soldiers. The death of the two innocent children and the wounding of three other civilians are indicative of the Abu Sayyaf’s desperate actions of sowing fear among the local populace,” Pabayo said, as he urged the locals to strongly condemn this un-Islamic and treacherous acts of the Abu Sayyaf.
“Let us remain firm with our resolve in putting an end to this senseless killing of innocent civilians,” he said. AL JACINTO
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