CAMP GENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO, Quezon City – At least twenty (20) improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered by soldiers following a series of encounters between joint forces from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) and members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) on Thursday (May 14) in Basilan Province.
At around 9 a.m. today (May 2015), operating troops of 3rd Scout Ranger Battalion under Lieutenant Reyeg and 18th Infantry Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Perez discovered a total of 20 improvised bombs near the vicinity of the clash sites in Sitio Project, Barangay Tuburan Proper, Hadji Mohammad Ajul town.
While following the enemy tracks, combined elements of 13th Scout Ranger Company, 9th Scout Ranger Company, 8th Scout Ranger Company and 8th Infantry Battalion separately discovered the explosives.
The 3rd Scout Ranger Battalion, 4th Special Forces Battalion & Hadji Mohammad Ajul PNP encountered ASGs under Ustadz Abbas Alam at around 8:25 a.m. on Thursday in Sitio Project, Barangay Tuburan Proper, Hadji Mohammad Ajul, Basilan.
The reports also revealed that a Malaysian Jihadist identified as Mohammed Najib Bin Husein aka Abu Anas/Abraham was part of the group which was engaged by the soldiers.
The troops incurred one dead and six wounded during the intense firefight. The injured soldiers are now in stable condition.
The government forces accounted three dead and three others wounded on the enemy side. One of the fatalities was identified as Apotoh Aman.
Col Rolando Joselito Bautista, the Commander of the Joint Task Group Basilan, has directed the relentless pursuit operations against the lawless elements in Basilan Province.
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