Seven Abu Sayyaf members, one Philippine marine killed in Mindanao firefights

LANAO DEL SUR: Seven suspected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members and one Philippine marine were killed in two separate firefights in the southern provinces of Sulu and Lanao del Sur.

The seven suspected ASG men were killed during a fierce encounter in the village of Kapuk Pungol, Parang municipality, Sulu, at about 11 pm on Feb 4, 2023.

Major Dominador Mauricio, the commander of the 7th Special Action Battalion of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF), in a report, said the suspects belonged to the same group allegedly behind the May 7, 2009 ambush that killed Sulu police provincial director Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim in Bato Ugis, Maimbung municipality.

Mauricio said the suspects were closely associated with slain ASG subleader Majan Sahidjuan alias Apo Mike, who had led an armed and kidnapping group in Patikul, Indanan, Maimbung, and Parang in Sulu and who was wanted by Malaysia’s Eastern Sabah Security Command.

The PNP-led joint operation included members of the Sulu Provincial Police Office and the Army to catch three of the island province’s most wanted men – Juko Dahim, Ammas Hatib Ajon, and Rogir Mukattir – all with arrest warrants issued by a Sulu court.

Dahim and Mukattir had been sought for a robbery case while Ajon was wanted for murder.

Brigadier General John Guyguyon, police director in the Bangsamoro region, in a report, said the three fugitives’s group was also linked to several high-profile crimes in Sulu such as kidnappings and drug trafficking, including Kasim’s killing.

It was not the first time that the group engaged government forces in a firefight, according to Guyguyon, who said the gunfight took place as troops approached the suspects’ location and were met with resistance.

Three people, including the PNP-SAF’s Captain Nolie Agmaliw, were wounded during the gunfight. The two others wounded were relatives of the suspects.

Major General Edgar Alan Okubo, the PNP-SAF director, in a statement, said Agmaliw was hurt when the middle finger on his left hand was struck.?

Okubo said the seven killed were Juko and six others identified as Jimming Akjal, Aldimar Kanih, Gamil Halik, Norhan Pasi, Malik Iron and his son.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), in a statement, said the Joint Task Force - Sulu deployed two platoons from the 41st Infantry Battalion to support the engaged PNP troops. Checkpoint operations were initiated to block the possible withdrawal routes of the enemies.?

While scouring the area, the troops recovered one M16 BA Colt, one M16 Elisco, one Colt M16, one Cal. Multi MDST 15, one M203 grenade launcher, one Colt AR 15, three M14 7.62s as well as assorted ammunition and firearm accessories, said Westmincom.?

Meanwhile, suspected members of Dawlah Islamiyah killed a marine and wounded three others in an ambush in the village of Cabasaran, Morogong municipality, in Lanao del Sur, on Saturday afternoon.

Dawlah Islamiyah is the name used to refer to the Maute Group, which is active in Lanao del Sur, and also to refer to other groups aligned with Daesh.

Morogong police identified the killed marine as Sergeant Tonti Melbert Pamaran, and the wounded as Sergeant Jeram Aradji, Corporal Mark Anthony Banares and a certain Sergeant Aninon.

Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Reyes Ronquillo, the commander of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 2, said the marines were not in uniform and were only carrying caliber .45 pistols which they used to hold the line until reinforcement arrived, while the attackers used heavier weapons such as 5.56mm rifles in the ambush.

Authorities did not say the motive for the attack which came days after United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III visited Westmincom in Zamboanga City and met with American commandos helping train Filipino troops in counterterrorism in western Mindanao.

The Maute Group, along with the ASG, laid siege on Lanao del Sur’s capital city of Marawi in 2017 to establish a Daesh territory in the region.

But government forces drove them out in the five-month urban battle that saw more than 1,200 people, mostly militants, killed and left much of the city in ruins.