The Abu Sayyaf militant group is holding 10 hostages, including a Dutch national, three Indonesians and six Filipinos, said Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the military’s joint Task Force, on March 27.
Philippine military
launches a raid on insurgents (Photo: VNA)
Sobejana said there were about 300-400
insurgents of the southern Philippines-based group operating in the Western Mindanao region, especially in Sulu, Basilan and
Tawi-Tawi provinces in the Sulu archipelago.
During his visit to Patikul city on March
26, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte instructed government forces to
increase attacks on the Abu Sayyaf group, which is notorious for conducting
bombings, shootings, assassinations and kidnapping.
The Philippine military's priority is to
rescue the kidnapped victims so that the operations won't be restricted,
Sobejana said.
The Abu Sayyaf helped the Maute group in
attacking Marawi city in May 2017 that claimed the lives of more than 1,200
people. The fighting that lasted five months ruined the Philippines's
only Islamic city.-
Soure: VNA
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