AFP: 18 Abu Sayyaf members killed last week

MANILA, Philippines - As much as 18 Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed in a series of encounters with government troops in Basilan last week, a military official said.

The military, however, has yet to recover the bodies of the militants who were supposedly slain during last Friday’s clashes.

Armed Forces spokesman Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan, Jr. said the information on the fatalities was based on reports obtained by the Western Mindanao Command (WESMINCOM).

“The reports state that 18 members of the Abu Sayyaf Group were killed and 14 were wounded and these are all reports received from the ground,” Tutaan told reporters Monday in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The gun battles, Tutaan claimed, also left 14 Abu Sayyaf terrorists injured.

WESMINCOM chief Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero said the figures were based on “consolidated information” they had received from their field sources.

“It’s difficult to confirm this on the ground. But the number denotes more or less the extent of the Abu Sayyaf’s presence in the areas where the encounters took place,” he said in a text message.

Tutaan said two soldiers were killed and 31 others were wounded during the encounter, which lasted for hours.

“Of the 31 wounded (soldiers), about 25 or 26 sustained superficial wounds,” he said.

Government troops in Basilan launched offensives against the Abu Sayyaf last week after receiving reports about the bandits’ extortion activities.

Three Army officers– a colonel, a captain and a lieutenant– were among those who were wounded during the encounters with the group of Abu Sayyaf commanders Nurhasan Jamiri, Bashir Kasaran, Ibrahim Malat and Furuji Indama.

Meanwhile, the military denied that some commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had assisted the Abu Sayyaf bandits who clashed with soldiers last week.

Tutaan claimed that the armed men who had aided the bandits might have been former MILF members who have severed their ties with the group.

“They can be former MILF members who broke away from the MILF and engaged in criminal activities. It’s not correct to say it’s MILF per se,” he said.

Tutaan said the Army’s 104th brigade is coordinating with the MILF 114th base Command as it continues to run after the remaining Abu Sayyaf members.

When asked if the military expects MILF members to turn over bandits who are seeking refuge in their community, Tutaan said: “I believe they will. Yes, if they are members of MILF.”

Sources previously revealed that some MILF commanders had been dragged into the clashes as most of the Abu Sayyaf bandits attacked by soldiers are their relatives.

Last month, the government and the MILF signed a peace deal that could pave way for the creation of a Bangsamoro region with an enhanced political and fiscal autonomy.