MANILA, Philippines - Government forces launched an air strike against suspected Abu Sayyaf camps in Patikul, Sulu on Friday night with attack helicopters swooping down with machinegun fire, the military said yesterday.
Col. Allan Arrojado, Joint Task Group Sulu (JTGS) commander, said the night attack focused on the suspected hideouts of Abu Sayyaf subcommander Jul Mundi Asman Sawadjaan, a certain Commander Ikit and bandit group chieftain Radullan Sahiron at Sitio Datag Kan Masarin, Barangay Buhanginan in Patikul.
“The three Abu Sayyaf groups of around 200 men were consolidating in the area when our attack helicopters hit them at about 9:30 p.m.,”
Arrojado said.
Last week, the military twice hit the bandits positions also in Patikul with rocket fire from attack helicopters.
Arrojado said one Abu Sayyaf was killed in the Friday evening air raid after his body was monitored by the military to have been returned to his family in Barangay Bud Bunga, Talipao town yesterday.
He said Modja is a follower of another Abu Sayyaf sub-leader, Arod Wahing, whose group is operating in Bud Bunga, also in Talipao.
The group of Sahiron, Ikit and Sawadjaan, according to Arrojado, were apparently plotting their escape plan from Patikul to Indanan when the air raid was launched.
Aside from one Abu Sayyaf confirmed killed, Arrojado said that he has yet to receive an update about the overall result of last Friday’s air operations.
The military has several battalions deployed in Patikul whose main mission is to confine and constrict the movements of the Abu Sayyaf just within the vicinity of Mt. Sinumaan, away from civilian-populated areas.
“Aside from our continuing ground operations, our intent in launching the air strike is to keep them running in order to deny them their good night’s sleep which we hope would result to the lowering of their guard to pave the way for us to launch decisive ground engagement with no collateral damage,” Arrojado said.
Authorities tagged the group of Sawadjaan as the ones behind the kidnapping of German couple Stefan Victor Okonek and Henrike Dielen.