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ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines – The main leader of a kidnapping-for-ransom gang affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu was killed along with six other people in a military operation carried out before dawn on Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said Mannul or Mannor Sawadjaan and their six heavily armed companions were leaving Sulare Island in a speedboat at 1 a.m. Tuesday when they were intercepted by forces. governmental.
With the help of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance teams, an Augusta attack helicopter fired at the gunmen, after which a Navy vessel rammed their boat.
“There were exchanges of fires, which lasted 25 minutes and resulted in the sinking of the boat used by about seven members of the ASG,” Vinluan said, adding that the military believed the bandits were in the middle of a kidnapping attempt in Mindanao. .
After the shooting, the ASG bandit’s boat was cut in half and he was searched for evidence, Vinluan said. “The boat broke in half and only the front part remained afloat, while the rear part must have sunk during the ramming of the Navy ship,” Vinluan said.
“There are no bodies [recovered] yet, but we doubt they can survive from a depth of 200 feet from the sea at night, “he added.
As of Tuesday afternoon, search and rescue teams were still searching the area for the bodies of the seven gunmen.
Besides Mannul, also on board the speedboat was his cousin Madsmar Sawadjaan, younger brother of Abu Sayyaf bomb maker Mudzrimar “Mundi” Sawadjaan.
Mundi has been on the run for his involvement in suicide bombings and kidnappings in Mindanao.
Mundi was also labeled as the mastermind behind the twin suicide bombings in Jolo, Sulu province, on August 24 this year, which killed at least 15 people and injured more than 70. He reportedly trained both Widows of the bandits killed to carry out the explosions near a restaurant and at a branch of the Development Bank of the Philippines.
Vinluan had said that Mundi and the two attackers were the target of the four army intelligence officers who were shot dead on June 29 this year by police officers near the police station in the walled city of Barangay in Jolo.
Mannul, according to Vinluan, took over as emir of the Islamic State in the southern Philippines last July, replacing his elderly uncle, Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who has been considered a latecomer in terrorism circles.
Mannul, also known as Abu Amara, was also a bomb expert who trained with Malaysian terrorist Amin Baco, who is believed to have succeeded Isnilon Hapilon as ISIS emir in Southeast Asia.
Vinluan said the speedboat landed on the island of Sulare on November 2, around the same time the military was informed about the departure of the Sawadjaan cousins from Basilan.
Without knowing the seven men, the island’s fishermen suspected them and reported their presence to the authorities.
This prompted the operation, Vinluan said.
Vinluan said the helicopter and warship followed the speedboat as it left Sulare Island.
As they were six kilometers from the island, and with the confirmation that it was Mannul’s group, the assault occurred, Vinluan added.
The army said troops recovered from the remaining part of the speedboat two M4 rifles with M203s, one M4A1 rifle, five backpacks with assorted items inside, two M14 long magazines, two M14 short magazines, four shoulder bags, two jungle bolo , two mallets, two canister paddles, two empty liquid containers, a power bank, two empty M203 ammo cartridges, and a Go Pro camera with a memory card.
Vinluan said the group was also responsible for the abduction of Dr. Daniel Moreno in Jolo, Sulu, on February 4, 2020.
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