Abu Sayyaf sub-leader, follower killed in Sulu clash with Marines

November 20, 2020

An Abu Sayyaf sub-leader and a follower  were killed in a clash with the Philippine Marines in Sulu on Friday.

Major Emery Torre, Philippine Marines public affairs officer , said the Marine Battalion Landing Team 1 (MBLT-1) encountered the group of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Hatib Munap Binda in a fierce firefight at Barangay Kawasan, Bud Bawis, Panamao municipality.

Torre said the clash resulted to the killing of sub-leader Hatib Munap Binda and member Bencio Barahama, whose  bodies were recovered with one M16 rifle, two M14 rifles, and other items of intelligence value after the encounter.

"Binda was the senior sub-leader of the ASG operating in Sulu province with stronghold in the municipalities of Kalingalan Caluang and Panamao," she said.

"In 2002, he associated with the late ASG sub-leader Al Habsi Misaya, who was involved in the series of kidnappings in the tri-boundaries of Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Al Habsi was killed in a clash with Marines in Sulu in 2017," said Torre.

"The death of Binda is considered a big blow to the terrorist group," she added.

Torre said Barahama, a follower of ASG leader Radullan Sahiron, masterminded several kidnap-for-ransom activities that victimized foreign nationals including Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra and Indonesians Maharudin Bin Lunani and Muhammad Farhan.

"Bencio Barahama was also involved in the kidnapping of at least ten other local victims in Sulu," she said. Robina Asido/DMS