Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon face to face with Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo at the Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB) landing field in Zamboanga City.Fresh fighting erupted between the military and the Abu Sayyaf group in Basilan Saturday morning, leaving 30 bandits and 17 soldiers dead while seven others wounded, local and military officials said.
This came two weeks after a series of clashes between Army troops and Abu Sayyaf, backed by rogue MNLF fighters in Sulu, where 27 soldiers and 31 bandits were killed and several others were wounded.
A local chief executive, who declined to be named due to news blackout on the situation in Basilan, confirmed the encounter which erupted at Sitio Kurellem, Barangay Silangkum, Ungkaya Pukan town at around 6:30 a.m.
Also a military official at the Armed Forces' Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCOm) confirmed that fighting had occured in Basilan, however, declined to divulge details of the fresh hostilities.
But the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo confirmed that two slain bodies of Abu Sayyaf bandits, involved in the beheading of members of the Philippine Marines, were recovered and accounted for by soldiers.
The two were identified as a certain Puruji Indama and his brother, Amirol.
The military also said that 15 members of the Philippine Marines and two Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) were killed while seven others were wounded in a fierce clash with undetermined number of fully armed men.
Independent sources from Basilan said the firefight was ongoing with heavy mortar shelling and exchange of fire taking place in the hinterland village of Ungkaya Pukan town and that an estimated 30 militants died in the clashes.
The latest fighting was the bloodiest clash on Basilan since the July 10 ambush incident that left 14 Marines dead, 10 of whom were beheaded. Troops, tanks and helicopters were rushing to the area.
Unconfirmed report said an MG520 attack helicopter, providing cover for engaging troops, was shot down killing one pilot. It said the second pilot was rescued.
As of this writing, the military is still blank on whether the helicopter was hit with enemy fire or not.
More than 12,000 soldiers are in Basilan and Sulu hunting down Abu Sayyaf and moro rebels blamed for beheading and attacks on the government security forces.
The MILF, which signed a ceasefire with the Philippine government three years ago, admitted that their forces ambushed marines and killed more than 20 but denied beheading and mutilating soldiers.
In Sulu, troops continue searching for hundreds of Abu Sayyaf gunmen and insurgents blamed for the killing of dozens of soldiers in the Muslim dominated island province.
WesMinCom military officials said pursuit operations are going on, forcing the terrorists to split into smaller groups.
Last week, Army troops clashed with combined forces of Gumbahali Jumdail and Indonesian Jemaah Islamiya militants Dulmatin and Umar Patek.
The Indon terrorists, tagged as behind the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, and Jumdail, also known as Dr. Abu, were reported to have been wounded in the most recent fighting in Sulu.
This came two weeks after a series of clashes between Army troops and Abu Sayyaf, backed by rogue MNLF fighters in Sulu, where 27 soldiers and 31 bandits were killed and several others were wounded.
A local chief executive, who declined to be named due to news blackout on the situation in Basilan, confirmed the encounter which erupted at Sitio Kurellem, Barangay Silangkum, Ungkaya Pukan town at around 6:30 a.m.
Also a military official at the Armed Forces' Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCOm) confirmed that fighting had occured in Basilan, however, declined to divulge details of the fresh hostilities.
But the military headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo confirmed that two slain bodies of Abu Sayyaf bandits, involved in the beheading of members of the Philippine Marines, were recovered and accounted for by soldiers.
The two were identified as a certain Puruji Indama and his brother, Amirol.
The military also said that 15 members of the Philippine Marines and two Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) were killed while seven others were wounded in a fierce clash with undetermined number of fully armed men.
Independent sources from Basilan said the firefight was ongoing with heavy mortar shelling and exchange of fire taking place in the hinterland village of Ungkaya Pukan town and that an estimated 30 militants died in the clashes.
The latest fighting was the bloodiest clash on Basilan since the July 10 ambush incident that left 14 Marines dead, 10 of whom were beheaded. Troops, tanks and helicopters were rushing to the area.
Unconfirmed report said an MG520 attack helicopter, providing cover for engaging troops, was shot down killing one pilot. It said the second pilot was rescued.
As of this writing, the military is still blank on whether the helicopter was hit with enemy fire or not.
More than 12,000 soldiers are in Basilan and Sulu hunting down Abu Sayyaf and moro rebels blamed for beheading and attacks on the government security forces.
The MILF, which signed a ceasefire with the Philippine government three years ago, admitted that their forces ambushed marines and killed more than 20 but denied beheading and mutilating soldiers.
In Sulu, troops continue searching for hundreds of Abu Sayyaf gunmen and insurgents blamed for the killing of dozens of soldiers in the Muslim dominated island province.
WesMinCom military officials said pursuit operations are going on, forcing the terrorists to split into smaller groups.
Last week, Army troops clashed with combined forces of Gumbahali Jumdail and Indonesian Jemaah Islamiya militants Dulmatin and Umar Patek.
The Indon terrorists, tagged as behind the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, and Jumdail, also known as Dr. Abu, were reported to have been wounded in the most recent fighting in Sulu.
No comments:
Post a Comment