ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines – A commander of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) was killed and an Abu Sayyaf militant was wounded in an encounter with a pro-government faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Al-Barka, Basilan on Saturday morning, the military said.
Lt. Col. Jose Paolo Perez, chief of the Army’s 18th Infantry Battalion, said the forces of MNLF leader Umbong Mallatin, alias Commander Cobra, clashed with a combined Abu Sayyaf-BIFF group led by Furuji Indama, alias Abu Dujana; Nurhassan Jamiri, alias Abu Bekkat; Ibrahim Malat Sulayman; Musanna Jamiri, alias Mongo-Mongo; and Basir Kasaran, alias Commander Basir, in Barangay Kuhon Lennuh, Al-Barka town.
Perez said the firefight lasted for an hour, leaving Kasaran dead after one of Mallatin’s snipers hit him in the head.
Perez said a follower of Abu Sayyaf leader Jamiri, a certain Misuari Jamiri, was wounded.
Despite outnumbered, Mallatin’s group was able to repel the combined forces of the Abu Sayyaf and BIFF, Perez said.
He said 18th IB soldiers provided support to Mallatin’s group, sending the militants fleeing.
Perez said Mallatin’s group had reinforced his battalion in past clashes with the Abu Sayyaf and was instrumental in neutralizing Abu Sayyaf leader Long Malat Sulayman in 2012.