Filipino troops have killed about 40 Abu Sayyaf rebels in offensives on southern islands over the past week, the military said on Monday, as a new government intensifies operations to wipe out one of Asia’s most formidable kidnap gangs.
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Meanwhile, Western Mindanao Command’s spokesman, Major Filemon Tan Jr., told reporters in Zamboanga City that government troops have surrounded Tipo-Tipo’s municipal hall, where Hapilon’s men reportedly tried to capture and raise the Daesh flag.
In a separate interview, the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) – of which Basilan and Sulu are part – said he believes the military and police can undermine the Abu Sayyaf with the help of local government units and residents.
Tan says in nearby Basilan province, troops fought about 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen for five hours late Wednesday.
His military chief said last week a looming offensive would “shock and awe” the group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), and was previously with al- Qaeda.
Last month, as Duterte prepared to assume office after winning the May presidential elections by landslide on a law and order platform, he ordered the military defeat the Abu Sayyaf.
The United States and the Philippines have blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings.
The Abu Sayyaf group is still holding several people hostage, including a Norwegian, who has been identified as Sekkingstad, seven Indonesian sailors and other Filipinos.
Three Indonesians were abducted from a tugboat on Sunday, although it was not immediately clear if Abu Sayyaf rebels were responsible.
Earlier this year, the group beheaded two Canadian hostages after ransoms failed to be paid. The money is used to finance the purchase of automatic weapons, grenade launchers, fast boats and hi-tech navigational equipment.
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Duterte’s new defence minister recently said the killing off Abu Sayyaf was his top security priority, taking precedence over the disputed South China Sea in terms of budget allocation.
