Army lieutenant killed, 9 soldiers wounded in encounter with Abu Sayyaf in Sulu

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A Philippine Army lieutenant was killed while nine others were wounded in running gunfights in Patikul, Sulu Monday.

The slain officer — 1Lt. Ryan Lou Retener — belonged to the 32nd Infantry Battalion, one of several units in Sulu trying to clear the island province from Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

He and his subordinates were patrolling at Sitio Tubig Bukayon in Barangay Pansul in the overly dangerous Patikul town in Sulu when Abu Sayyaf gunmen attacked them from two directions, sparking a clash that lasted for more than two hours.

Reports reaching the capitol of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao stated that nine soldiers, Sergeant Lito Nuevo Jr., Privates 1st Class Harold Kim Sagante, Jay-ar Sebastian and Danar Berganio, Privates Jan Maligaya, Zyrus Wayas, Arthur De Leon, Raffy Santillan and Jerric Nantes were badly wounded in the incident.

There are talks spreading around purporting that no fewer than four Abu Sayyaf members were killed in the incident, according to local officials and the police.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said efforts to locate the bandits responsible for the death of Retener are underway.

“It is saddening to see a soldier perish, or get hurt in line of duty but there is consolation in the thought of their act of heroism for nation and God,” Sobejana said Tuesday.

Brig. Gen. Manuel Abu, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, told reporters Tuesday the Sulu provincial police office is now helping identify the culprits for subsequent prosecution.

Sulu province in the Bangsamoro region is the main bastion of the Abu Sayyaf that espouses religious militancy and animosity for non-Muslims.

The group has a reputation for beheading foreign and local captives snatched from nearby regions if ransom demands are not met.