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At least five Abu Sayyaf terrorists and one soldier were killed while two others soldiers and five other bandits were wounded In a statement, Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, spokesman for Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), said in a statement that clashes in the town of Patikul in the Sulu island province were alarming. military operations, the troops of the 45th Infantry Battalion (IB) met more or less 20 members of Abu Sayyaf under the Deputy Chief Almujer Yaddah at the border of Barangay Tanum and Liang at midnight.

"The fight left four dead and five wounded on the side of the enemy, on the basis of human intelligence, government casualties include one wounded and two wounded who were immediately evacuated to the Station Hospital Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista, "said Besana

.Alay Abayo, commander of the multinational force Sulu, also said that the wounded soldiers were flown to Camp Navarro General Hospital , headquarters of WestMinCom, Zamboanga City, early Thursday morning for other drugs

operations conducted with more or less 20 members of the Abu Sayyaf group under Almadjan Sahidjuan aka Apoh Mike in Barangay Tabu-Bato, Maimbung, to 9:30 am Thursday

Heavy skirmishes followed, resulting in the death of an enemy based on the number of an M16 rifle.

Lt. General Arnel Dela Vega, Head of Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) salute the fallen soldier and prayed for the two others who are currently recovering at Camp Navarro General Hospital

"With the support of local government and the people, the sickening problem of terrorism will soon be over ", he added. "The intensification of military operations is supported by the renewed vigor of those who are against violent extremism."

The military declared that the combat operations supported joint operational forces forced eight other members of the Abu Sayyaf group to establish their Three-hour period, the troops are deploying efforts to contain local terrorists in Western Mindanao .

Besana, in the same statement, said that a total of seven members of the ASG presented themselves to the Joint Task Force troops. Sulu, under the command of Brigadier General Divino Rey Pabayo, Monday, July 16th.

Troops of the landing team of Naval Base 3 (MBLT3) with the Sulu Provincial Police, in coordination with the local population. , successfully facilitated the surrender of Hamsani Salamuddin aka Hatib Hamsani and Hatib Ambri Awalon aka Ratag Badjang, both married and residents of Sitio Badyang, Barangay Gata-Gata, Panglima Estino Sulu.

The third member of Abu Sayyaf who surrendered was identified as Asali Laadja a.k.a Asali, married and resident of Barangay Danag, Patikul, Sulu. He surrendered to the army around 10 am on July 16 at Barangay Tiptipon, Panglima Estino. This was followed by four other capitulants who surrendered to the troops of the 101st Brigade thanks to the efforts of the commander of the 35th Infantry Battalion, the 5th Special Forces Company; and Barangay, leader of Anuling, Patikul, around noon, the same day, at the headquarters of the 101st Brigade in Bus-Bus, Jolo.

Nurham Langkahan, 23 years old; Faisal Langkahan, 18 years old; Rashdy Alih, 20 years old; Kaisir Alih, 16, returned one (1) 38 caliber pistol, one (1) rifle and two (2) Garand rifles

In Basilan, another member of Abu Sayyaf gave in to the troops of the 4th Special Forces Battalion. Mubin Kullim is subjected to troops at the 4SFBn headquarters in Barangay Cabunbata, Isabela City, Basilan taking with him a M16A1 rifle and a long magazine. with 30 rounds of ammunition. "I want to thank the local government and the people of Sulu and Basilan for their support of the military campaign against terrorism," said Dela Vega.

From January 1, 2018 to date, 135 members of Abu Sayyaf surrendered to the troops, including 65 from Sulu, 63 from Basilan, 5 from Tawi-Tawi and two from Zamboanga City. (Hader Glang)