KOTA KINABALU – Two suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists have been shot dead by security personnel in a predawn shoot-out near Pulau Timbang in Sandakan.
The armed conflict occurred during an operation to detect militants in the east coast district.
The Abu Sayyaf group has a violent history of abductions and executions, and intends to separate the southern Philippines from the country under a hardcore Islamist agenda.
The group has over the last few years been firmly linked with the Islamic State network.
Security personnel also seized firearms from the bodies after the shooting at about 5am.
Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali confirmed the incident and will hold a press conference at 11am in Sandakan.
The confrontation is linked to a special security operation held at Taman Sri Arjuna in Beaufort here on May 8, during which eight individuals on an “Abu Sayyaf militant members” wanted list were arrested near a mangrove area in the residential area.
Another eight suspected members were also detained, along with 29 others, on May 10.
In a follow-up operation, five men were shot dead in a shoot-out in Beaufort on May 17, with the authorities saying they have crushed a militant cell taking refuge in Sabah.
However, they later obtained information from arrested militants and mounted a search operation for more Abu Sayyaf members believed to be functioning covertly in the state, which led them to the two suspects at Pulau Timbang.
No police officers were hurt in the shooting. – The Vibes, August 20, 2021
