Philippine Security Forces Kill 2 Abu Sayyaf Militants, Capture 4

Two suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf group have been killed and four of their companions captured by Philippine security forces on the southern island of Jolo, where authorities believe the militants are holding several hostages, the military said Thursday.

A joint team of soldiers and local police officers were conducting patrol operations near the town of Indanan when they were attacked Wednesday, leading to a gunbattle, regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Gerry Besana said.

“Two of them have resisted and our police and soldiers were able to neutralize them,” Besana said.

Killed in the operation were Hassan Radjik and Kemar Jade, known members of the Abu Sayyaf in Indanan. Four other suspected militants, Lino Tantung, 42; Hamjir Sahidal, 19; Sajiyal Asiral Alamia, 46; and Arajal Amicul Aida, 46; were arrested.

Authorities recovered assorted weapons from the militants, but it was not clear if the security forces found any signs of the hostages in Indanan.

Besana said the operation were part of “the sustained effort of soldiers to get rid of banditry and violent extremist groups in the area.”

Last week, the Abu Sayyaf snatched Shariff Benjamin Asama Ubaid, a teacher from another part of Jolo. He was taken at gunpoint, but was subsequently freed after ransom money was exchanged for his freedom, the military said.

The gunmen are believed to be still holding 12 hostages, including three Indonesians and seven Filipinos. During the past two years, the extremists beheaded a German and two Canadians they had kidnapped for failing to pay millions of dollars in ransom.

The Abu Sayyaf is the smallest, but the most radical Muslim militant faction operating in the southern Philippines.

Last year, Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, the acknowledged head of the Islamic State in the country, led the daring takeover of the predominantly-Muslim city of Marawi, also in the south. He was aided by hundreds of other Filipino militants, as well as fighters from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

He was killed in October, ending the five-month siege that had left an estimated 1,200 people dead, most of them militants. But the entire southern region of Mindanao remains under tight military control, with dozens of other militants believed to be still at large.

Those who had escaped from Marawi may have sought refuge in areas controlled by other militant groups, including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a more organized group protesting a peace deal between Manila and the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The BIFF had also pledged allegiance with the IS, although it did not send fighters to Marawi last year.

Earlier this week, military officials said security forces had killed Norodin Taib, a known BIFF bomb expert blamed for several attacks in the south. He was shot dead when soldiers raided his hideout in the town of Shariff Aguak, regional military chief Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said.

“He resisted arrest and lobbed grenade to our men. The grenade-throwing incident prompted the soldiers to neutralize him,” Sobejana said, adding that the slain suspect was one of the suspects in the bombings last month in the town of Isulan.

Three people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the Aug. 28 Isulan attack blamed on the BIFF. Twenty-five BIFF men were charged for the night market attack.

Mark Navales in Cotabato City contributed to this report.