Abu Sayyaf terrorist group leader surrendered with 13 followers
A top leader of the Daesh-linked Abu Sayyaf terrorists surrendered to authorities along with 13 of his followers on the island province of Basilan in restive Mindanao, a senior Cabinet official confirmed on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana expressed the hope that the surrender on Wednesday of Nhurhassan Jamiri, who gained notoriety for the ambush and killing of government forces as well as bombing attacks on civilians, would lead to the collapse of the terror group in Basilan.
“The surrender of the notorious Abu Sayyaf leader and his entire group, after successful negotiations and military operation, will hopefully bring the eventual collapse of the terrorists in Basilan, restore peace and order in the province and bring justice to the thousands of soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect our people,” Lorenzana stressed.
Lorenzana cited military reports that Jamiri, who headed the Abu Sayyaf unit in Basilan, was one of the most wanted men in Mindanao for the ambush and killing of soldiers as well as attacks on civilians in neighboring Zamboanga City.
Jamiri is also wanted for a series of abductions of crewmen of Vietnamese fishing boats off Basilan where they demanded the payment of huge ransoms for their release, according to Lorenzana.
He also revealed that the military blamed Jamiri for attacks on government forces including the 2002 ambush of elite members of the Philippine Marines that killed at least 14 soldiers in the town of Albarca, Basilan.
Lorenzana added that Jamiri and his 13 followers also yielded high-powered firearms as well as explosives and thousands of rounds of assorted ammunition like M16 rifles, M4 carbines and fragmentation grenades.
Earlier, the military said the Abu Sayyaf and the Maute Group which pledged allegiance to the Daesh extremists in the Middle East, were behind the siege of Marawi, the capital city of Lanao del Sur on May 23, 2017 that prompted the Duterte administration to declare martial law over the whole of troubled Mindanao.
Source: Gulf Today
