(UPDATE) Abu Sayyaf beheads abducted soldier

April 23, 2017

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Soldiers on Sunday recovered the decapitated remains of a former rebel who joined the military three days ago after he was abducted by the Abu Sayyaf in the province of Sulu. Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Jr., commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the body of Staff Sgt. Anni Siraji was found around 2:10 p.m.Sunday in Patikul town while soldiers of the Army’s 32 nd Infantry Battalion and 11 th Military Intelligence Co. were conducting search and rescue operations. Sobejana said the Siraji’s head was found 50 meters away from where the body was recovered. He said the remains were in advanced state of decomposition. He said the body was taken to the morgue in Camp Bautista in Jolo, Sulu, for proper disposition and burial. Siraji, who is assigned with the Army’s 32 nd Infantry Battalion, was about to buy chicken from residents when the bandits led by a certain Julhasan abducted him on April 20. Julhasan is one of the followers of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan. Siraji, a native of Sulu, used to belong to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). He joined the Philippine military through the integration program under the 1996 peace agreement between the government and the MNLF. DMS