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3 cops, militiaman hurt in Sulu ambush

By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.

December 5, 2019, 7:18 pm

<p>Google map of Patikul town, Sulu.</p>

Google map of Patikul town, Sulu.

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Three police officers and a militiaman were wounded in an ambush staged by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits in the hinterlands of Sulu, officials said Thursday.

Lt. Col. Gerald Monfort, Joint Task Force Sulu information officer, said the attack took place around 6:50 p.m. Wednesday in Barangay Buhanginan, Patikul, Sulu.

Monfort said the policemen and Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) members were on security patrol when the ASG bandits ambushed them, leading to a five-minute firefight.

He said troops from the Army’s 6th Special Forces Battalion reinforced the joint policemen and BPAT, forcing the ASG bandits to flee to different directions.

The three policemen and a BPAT member were rushed to the Camp Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Hospital in Jolo, the capital of Sulu.

The ambush came five hours after one of the bandits' companions surrendered and turned over a firearm to military authorities in Sulu.

Lt. Col. Alaric Avelino delos Santos, Army’s 41st Infantry Battalion commander, said the ASG surrenderer told them “that a lot of his comrades are now planning to surrender and are just waiting for an opportunity to escape.”

“They are now feeling the full pressure of the government’s war against terrorism,” delos Santos said.

Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., Joint Task Force Sulu commander, said the ambush could be a retaliation for the series of recent ASG debacles “as a result of the active participation of the civilians to our security programs.”

“Their strategy is to sow terror and threat to the general public. Hence, I urge the entire peace-loving Tausug community not to give in to such terror scheme. Let us remain firm with our resolve in putting an end to this senseless violence that has destroyed the image of Sulu for decades,” Vinluan said. (PNA)

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