Cops, soldiers to probe Abu Sayyaf members behind Sulu clash

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Bangsamoro regional police and the Western Mindanao Command will cooperate in identifying the Abu Sayyaf bandits who killed 11 Army personnel in a clash in Patikul, Sulu Friday for them to be prosecuted in court.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the military’s Westmincom, said Saturday the 11 fatalities all belonged to the 21st Infantry Battalion, one of Army units trying to clear the island province of Sulu from Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

The slain soldiers figured in running gunfights on Friday afternoon in Danag in Patikul town, a known Abu Sayyaf bastion. The hostilities left 14 other soldiers wounded.

Gen. Manuel Manalo Abu, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region said Saturday the Sulu provincial police will enlist the help of local officials in identifying the culprits for them to be charged for their criminal offenses.

Abu said the Sulu provincial police deployed intelligence agents to help Westmincom guard public places from possible retaliatory attacks by the Abu Sayyaf for its losses in Friday’s hostilities in Patikul.

Talks have been circulating in police and military camps in the Bangsamoro region and at the regional capitol in Cotabato City purporting that the Abu Sayyaf lost five members in the encounter. Five bandits were also reportedly wounded in the incident.

The Abu Sayyaf has a reputation for venting ire on civilians over deaths of members in gunfights with pursuing state forces.