4 ASG 'cohorts' killed in Tawi-Tawi clash
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 15:30 PM Mon Jan 20, 2020
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By:
Teofilo Garcia, Jr./PNA
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Four drug personalities with alleged ties with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) were killed while a soldier was wounded in a clash in the province of Tawi-Tawi, military officials said Monday.
Brig. Gen. Camilo Balutan, Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi commander, said the firefight occurred around 5 a.m. Sunday in Barangay Lakit-Lakit, Sapa-Sapa, Tawi-Tawi, when the troops of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-6 (MBLT-6) chanced upon a group of gunmen while conducting a "focused military operation."
Balutan said the clash resulted in the deaths of four gunmen identified as Oyong Maulana, Datu Solon Maulana, Rashida Maulana, and Nhadz Omar. A soldier was also slightly injured during the clash.
He said the slain gunmen are known as cohorts of the Sulu-based ASG in the group's kidnapping operations within the borders of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Sapa-Sapa officials have also positively identified the four casualties as notorious drug personalities, the Army official said.
Following the firefight, Balutan said the troops recovered firearms, ammunition, two plastic sachets of suspected shabu, assorted illegal drug paraphernalia, and other pieces of evidence.
Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, commended the troops for the "very remarkable accomplishment" in the government's anti-terror campaign.
“We are working round-the-clock to ensure the safety and security of the people in our area of operations,” Sobejana said.
He said troops are tracking down the other members of the group who managed to escape. (PNA)