Following the savage clash between the army and the Abu Sayyaf which costs PH troops 15 soldiers, President Duterte waged an all-out war against the most notorious terrorists in the country. He added 5 battalions to the existing troops based in Sulu which is equivalent to 2,500 soldiers. All in all, 7,000 strong AFP force is concentrated in Sulu alone.
Recently, the AFP conducted a concentrated offensive attack against the Abu Sayyaf (ASG) and has greatly damage the terrorists. According to reports, 40 memebers of the Abu Sayyaf were killed while 25 terrorists were injured. This was the first ever counter-offensive operation of the AFP under President Rodrigo Duterte's leadership. They shared that they rained the Abu Sayyaf with artillery fire and air attacks from helicopters conducted by thousands of military infantry.
Western Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Major Filemon Tan confirmed that 22 terrorists were killed and 16 were injuured in a separate operation in the jungles of Sulu. In Basilan, 18 terrorists were killed and 9 were wounded in a focused attack on Tipo-Tipo town.
Sabtola Mahali, one of the abductors of journalist Ces Drilon in 2008, was one of those who were killed as confirmed by reports. With this, the province of Basilan already declared a state of calamity in reference to the heavy firefight between government troops and the ASG.
Basilan Governor Jim Hataman-Salliman announced that it would last up to three months to better aid the residents who fled from the affected area.
Source: TNP, Classifiedtrends
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