Google map of Basilan Island province.
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Two more Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits have surrendered as a result of the military and police's intensified combat operations in Basilan province.
In a statement Friday, the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) identified the ASG surrenderers as Salih Kiman Mustapha and a certain Abu Tuttuh, 28.
Brigadier Gen. Domingo Gobway, Joint Task Force (JTF)-Basilan commander, said Mustapha surrendered Thursday to government forces at the Basilan Provincial Police Office in Barangay Menzi, Isabela City, the province’s capital.
Mustapha, a follower of the late Basilan-based ASG leader Radzmil Jannatul, handed over his M1 Carbine rifle upon his surrender.
Jannatul was killed in a clash with troops in March this year in Sumisip town, Basilan.
Meanwhile, Col. Frederick Sales, JTF-Basilan deputy commander, said Tuttuh also surrendered to the troops on Wednesday in Ungkaya Pukan town.
Tuttuh, a supporter of the late ASG leader of Furuji Indama, yielded a .38-caliber revolver.
In October 2020, Indama was slain in an encounter with military troops in R.T. Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr., the Westmincom commander, said the influx of ASG surrenderers can be attributed to “good governance of our local chief executives and the programs initiated by the government.”
Since January this year, the JTF-Basilan has listed a total of 25 ASG surrenderers in their area of operation. (PNA)
