ASG killed as AFP intensifies offensive vs extremists
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 00:23 AM Mon Jun 18, 2018
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By:
Lt. Colonel Gerry Besana/CPIO, Westmincom
ZAMBOANGA CITY -A member of Abu Sayaff Group was killed during a pursuit operation conducted by troops of the Joint Task Force Sulu at Sitio Sailih of Barangay Panglayahan in Patikul municipality around 6:20 p.m. Saturday.Brigadier General Divino Rey C Pabayo, commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said that encounter started at 3:20 p.m. when elements of the 32nd Infantry Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Ronaldo Mateo engaged a group of around 40 ASG led by a certain Hajaan Sawadjaan. Exchange of fires lasted for 35 minutes with no reported casualty among the government forces.
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and personal belongings of the bandits were also recovered at the encounter site.
We are thankful for the information given by the local populace every time the bandits come to the area.
This only shows that the people is fed up of the menace brought by the ASG and because they want to move forward towards peace and development in their locality, Pabayo said.Lieutenant General Arnel B. Dela Vega, commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said, Our intensified security operation against the ASG is meant to finish off the bandits so that people in the area can live in peace.
Aside from protecting the people, we also have to secure on-going government flagship projects there that are meant to deliver services to the communities, Lt. General Arnel B. Dela Vega, commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom),said. The ASG has brought so much destruction in Southern Mindanao so we really have to join hands in defeating them.
Of course, they can yield to the government and opt to live peacefully with their family, Dela Vega explained. For this year alone, almost a hundred ASG members have re-joined their families after yielding to the Armed Forces in coordination with the local government units in various
municipalities of Sulu and Basilan.Immediate assistance was extended to them while sustainable livelihood package is being formulated to finally help them become productive members of their respective communities.