Sayyaf leader slain in Bohol encounter

MANILA, Philippines - An alleged leader of Abu Sayyaf bandits who stormed Bohol early this month was killed in an encounter with government troops yesterday.

The group of Joselito Melloria clashed with police and military operatives in Barangay Bacani in Clarin town at around 12:45 p.m., Senior Superintendent Felipe Natividad, Bohol police director, said.

Clarin, the next town to Inabanga, where soldiers clashed with the bandits on April 11, is around seven kilometers away from the town proper.

Natividad said Melloria, a native of Bohol, yielded an M203 grenade launcher and an M16 rifle.

There was no reported casualty on the government side. Authorities are verifying the number of bandits involved in the clash.

In an interview over dzBB, Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto said no civilian was affected in the incident, which was contained in an area.“There is no cause for alarm. Bohol is normal,” he said.

Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman, said pursuit operations for six other Abu Sayyaf ”stragglers” were ongoing as of yesterday afternoon.

Five bandits, including sub-commander Muammar Askali, alias Abu Rami, as well as three soldiers and a policeman were slain in the encounters in Inabanga.

Rami was reportedly involved in the beheading of a German and two Canadian hostages. 

President Duterte offered a reward of P1 million for each Abu Sayyaf bandit who attacked troops in Bohol. He said security forces should produce the bandits “dead or alive”

Meanwhile, the military set up checkpoints in Zamboanga peninsula, Basilan and Sulu to intercept bandits who might slip into their strongholds in Mindanao to escape from the military offensive in Bohol.

“We are on heightened alert...while pursuit operations continue,” said Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, Western Mindanao spokesperson. 

Petinglay said government troops are monitoring coastal areas in Mindanao in coordination with local officials. – With Jaime Laude, Roel Pareño