July 22, 2012, SunstarZamboanga, Troops, Abu Sayyaf bandits clash, by Bong Garcia,

July 22, 2012, SunstarZamboanga, Troops, Abu Sayyaf bandits clash, by Bong Garcia,

Military troops backed by militiamen have clashed with some 20 gunmen believed to be Abu Sayyaf bandits in the hinterlands of Basilan province, a top military official said Saturday.

Colonel Ramon Yogyog, commander of the Special Operations Task Force-Basilan, said the clash took place around 1:55 p.m. Friday in the boundary of Sapah Bulak and Upper Cabengbeng villages, Sumisip town.

Yogyog said no government troop was hurt during the encounter, while the Abu Sayyaf bandits were believed to have suffered casualties.

Three of the more or less 20 Abu Sayyaf bandits were identified as Kirun Tampuri, Botong Aliman, and Ahmad Aliman, Yogyog said.

Yogyog said the firefight lasted for about 30 minutes and the bandits fled to different directions after they were outfought by the troops.

The troops have recovered from the clash site an M-16 Armalite rifle and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, Yogyog added.

“The troops were conducting security patrol in the boundary Sapah Bulak and Upper Cabengbeng villages when they chanced upon the bandits,” Yogyog said.

The government soldiers have intensified security patrol in the village of Sapah Bulak and nearby villages to thwart off plans of the Abu Sayyaf bandits from committing atrocities.

Meanwhile, six people, including a militiaman, were killed while 21 others where three of them also militiamen were wounded last July 11 when the Abu Sayyaf bandits ambushed them.

Most of the victims were rubber plantation workers of the Tumahubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative (TARBIDC).

The workers, escorted by militiamen, were aboard a TARBIDC-owned vehicle on their way to their worksite when ambushed by the Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Military and police authorities believed that the motive of the incident was extortion since the TARBIDC management had ignored the Abu Sayyaf demands for protection money. website: