PAGADIAN CITY – Two Abu Sayyaf terrorists have surrendered to the army on Thursday in Zamboanga Sibugay province after escaping military operations in the southern island of Sulu in 2016.
Lt. Col. Don Templonuevo, commander of the 44th Infantry Battalion, said the duo yielded two Garand rifles when they surrendered in the town of Imelda. Both are natives of Talipao town in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
“They operated under Sibih Pisih, one of the notorious leaders of the Abu Sayyaf. Both however sought refuge in Zamboanga Sibugay in 2016. They are now undergoing custodial debriefing,” he said.
Col. Leonel Nicolas, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade, said he welcomed the surrender of the two Abu Sayyaf fighters and appealed to the others to return to the fold of the law and live peacefully with their families. “We continuously encourage terrorist groups and their supporters to surrender and submit themselves to the folds of the law and become productive citizens,” he said.
Details of the men’s surrender or what convinced them to yield were not made public by the army, but security forces have launched a massive hunt for the Abu Sayyaf and foreign ISIS fighters hiding in the restive region following a spate of suicide attacks in Sulu and Basilan. (Zamboanga Post)
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