Philippines army to 'run over' those helping Abu Sayyaf

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines

The Philippines military is ramping up its efforts to eradicate the Abu Sayyaf from the country's south, warning locals Wednesday that they too face annihilation if they are caught assisting the Daesh-linked group.

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered an all out assault on the militants since Aug. 26, following its beheading of an 18-year-old Filipino hostage, but the military says it is being hampered by the discovery of civilians on the battlefield.

In a press conference Wednesday, Western Mindanao Command spokesman Major Filemon Tan Jr. said that if anyone is discovered helping wounded Abu Sayyaf, the military will treat them as if they are holding firearms and "run over them".

He added that the warning -- which Tan said came directly from the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Ricardo Visaya -- is against "anyone" found in the area.

"Whatever their position and whoever interferes with this fight by giving support to the Abu Sayyaf, we will hit them," he underlined.

"This fighting is happening in the mountain, but we wonder why there are civilians in the battle site. There must be something wrong."

Earlier this year, a Moro National Liberation (MNLF) faction assisted authorities in securing the freedom of a group of Indonesian sailors being held by the Abu Sayyaf.

Members of the Moro rebel group are now reported to have clashed with Daesh-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu early this month and killed four of them.

On Wednesday, Tan welcomed such help.

"If the MNLF wants to help in destroying the Abu Sayyaf then they are welcome to do so," he underlined,

The armed forces had earlier said the encounter was with "an offshoot of the ongoing efforts of the MNLF to help facilitate the release of Indonesian kidnap victims."

With Duterte expected to pay respect at the command's headquarters in Zamboanga Wednesday to 15 soldiers killed in a Aug. 29 military offensive, Tan clarified that none of those who died was decapitated as previously reported.

A beheading story had originated from a message that read: "Your son is dead, we have decapitated him" sent from the phone of one of the slain soldiers, he said.

"Beheading not true... There was no decapitation among our soldiers," he said.

Tan underlined that the Army's all out assault would continue over the following days, with the latest clashes "the tip of the iceberg".

"There will be more troops, more equipment, more firepower," he said.

Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.

It is one of two militant groups in the south who have pledged allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during the stalling of a peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that it could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.