6 Abus slain, 4 camps captured in Basilan clash

MANILA, Philippines - Government troops captured four Abu Sayyaf camps while six bandits were killed after separate encounters in Basilan on Tuesday. 

There was no casualty on the government side.

The bodies of two of the six slain bandits have been recovered while ground troops are still validating the identity of the four others, Capt. Ma. Rowena Muyuela, spokesperson for the Western Mindanao Command said yesterday.

Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office chief, said the captured camps are in Barangays Baiwas and Pamatsaken.

 “Our troops are deliberate and careful in hunting down the Abu Sayyaf remnants because there are IEDs (improvised explosive devices) along their escape routes,” Cabunoc said.

He said Army and Marine soldiers now occupy the four camps. 

Government troops have also recovered five IEDs in the encounter sites and along the route where the Abu Sayyaf fled.

 “Relentless operations are still ongoing against the Abu Sayyaf bandits but there was no recorded firefight as of Thursday,” Cabunoc said. 

Radzmil Jannatul and Jahaivel Alamsirul head the Abu Sayyaf group targeted by the military. The group is believed to be involved in the killing of Lt. Jun Corpuz, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 2014, and five other soldiers during an ambush in Sumisip.