Sayyaf man killed in Basilan encounter

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Marines clashed with suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels in Basilan Monday afternoon, killing one and wounding an undetermined number, the military said.

Members of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 8 ran into the bandits at the boundary of the remote villages of Baguindan and Silangkom in Tipo-Tipo town.

Maj. Eugene Batara Jr., spokesman of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said a firefight ensued, forcing the rebels to retreat.

Batara said the 58th Marine Company and 16th Marine Company’s Fire Artillery Battalion launched mortar and artillery fire at the fleeing rebels.

No Marine was reported killed in the clash, Batara said.

Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, Westmincom chief, said the Abu Sayyaf band was believed behind the killing and mutilation of 10 Marines in an ambush in July last year.

The Abu Sayyaf is blamed for the country’s worst terrorist attacks and is on the US government’s list of foreign terrorist organizations. – Roel Pareño