Twelve Abu Sayyaf members surrender after subleader-cum-bomber killed
They surrender in Basilan province.
BASILAN: Twelve members of the Abu Sayyaf (ASG) terror group have surrendered to authorities in the southern Philippine province of Basilan believed prompted by the killing of an ASG subleader and expert bomber last week, it has been reported.
Brigadier General Alvin Luzon, the commander of the army’s 101st Infantry Brigade, said they surrendered after Sulu-based ASG bomb maker Mundi Sawadjaan was killed in an encounter with government troops on Saturday (Dec. 2) off Basilan province, SunStar reported.
Luzon said two of the 12 ASG surrenderers were followers of the late Radzmil Jannatul while the remaining 10 were followers of the late Puruji Indama.
Jannatul was killed in a clash with soldiers on March 25, 2022 in Baiwas village, Sumisip, Basilan, while Indama was killed on September 9, 2020 on the coast of R.T. Lim town in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Luzon presented the 12 ASG surrenderers to Major General Ignatius Patrimonio, Joint Task Force Orion commander, in a ceremony at the 101st Infantry Brigade headquarters in Tabiawan village, Isabela City, Basilan, on Wednesday (Dec. 6).
He expressed hope that Basilan will be declared totally free of ASG soon.
Luzon attributed the surrender of the 12 ASG followers to the continuous campaign of the provincial and municipal governments as well as Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities - Basilan.
Patrimonio said the series of military operations and the death of Sawadjaan had resulted in the surrender of the 12 ASG members.
Patrimonio said more troops will be deployed in Basilan even as he emphasised that the ASG’s strength has been waning these days due to the neutralisation of its leaders and the eventual surrender of its remaining members, SunStar reported further.
“In due time, we will also declare Basilan as ASG-free as we have been given the mandate to finish them off and to finally end violent extremism,” he said.
The ASG is a a designated terror group in the Philippines, Malaysia and several other nations and have been tagged in several bombings in Sulu province and kidnapping of Indonesian fishermen in waters off the Malaysian Borneo state of Sabah.