18 June 2017•Update: 19 June 2017
By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
The armed forces of the Philippines on Sunday said they had seized a large camp belonging to the Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippines’ Basilan province Friday.
Recovered from the camp of sub-leaders Furuji Indama and Janatul in the town of Ungkaya Pukan, were firearms, solar panels, improvised explosive device components and a document believed to be from a Vietnamese hostage.
In a report by GMA News, military spokesman Col. Uy said they were able to locate the camp from information given by Abu Sayyaf members who had recently surrendered.
The attack was made after a series of airstrikes and artillery fire which resulted in heavy casualties in the militant ranks as evidenced by bloodstains and human flesh around the said Lt. Col. Andrew Bacala.
The news outlet quoted Cpl. Odilon Dalman Espina Jr, spokesman for the 4th Special Forces Battalion, as saying that Hoang Vo, one of six Vietnamese abducted by the Abu Sayyaf group off the coast of Sibago Island in Basilan in 2016, apparently managed to escape his abductors during the shelling of the camp.
Vo was later recovered by the military in the nearby town of Sumisip, also in Basilan province.
The capture of the Abu Sayyaf camp was described by the military as a “highly accomplished mission”.
Isnilon Hapilon, the Abu Sayyaf leader believed to be fighting with the Maute group in Marawi City, hails from the province of Basilan.
