MANILA -- Philippine marines have killed an Abu Sayyaf extremist commander and a notorious kidnapper who had sailed across the sea border into Malaysia to snatch tourists and sailors for ransom, the military chief said Saturday.
General Eduardo Año told The Associated Press that Alhabsy Misaya was slain in a clash with marines late Friday in the jungles between the towns of Indanan and Parang in Sulu province. He said Misaya's body was identified by military officials and captured Abu Sayyaf militants.
Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, Jr., commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the clash ensued when the troops sighted the group of Misaya around 9:31 p.m. Friday in the village of Silangkan, Parang municipality.
He said there was no casualty among the troops from the Marine Recon Force that figured in a clash with Misaya’s group.
Misaya has been blamed for abductions of dozens of Malaysians and Indonesian hostages, including one who was beheaded.
"We consider him the most notorious kidnapper from that bandit group and this is a big setback to the Abu Sayyaf," Año told the AP by telephone.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Misaya's slay is part of government's efforts to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Abella said the government would continue its resolve to hold members of the terrorist group accountable for its "brutal and senseless acts."
Misaya had been blamed for the abductions of dozens of Indonesian, Vietnamese and Malaysian crewmen of cargo ships and tugboats plying the busy sea border between the southern Philippines and Malaysia. He was believed to be holding several abducted Vietnamese sailors in Sulu's jungles but the hostages were apparently not with him during the clash.
A kidnapped Malaysian man was beheaded by Misaya's group in November 2015.
The Philippine military has been undertaking a major offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, which is notorious for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings. The group is blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the United States and the Philippines.
Año said Misaya has standing warrant of arrest for kidnapping and serious illegal detention with ransom.
Misaya, an explosive expert, was involved in many celebrated incidents like the October 2002 bombing of a store outside Camp Arturo Enrile in Malagutay, this city that killed U.S. serviceman Sergeant Mark Jackson and the wounding of 23 others, including another American soldier, the January 2009 bombing of the Salaam Bridge in Bato-Bato, Indanan, Sulu and the March 2011 bombing of Dennis Coffee Shoppe in San Raymundo, Jolo, Sulu, which killed four people and wounded 11 others, to name a few.
Misaya is a sulu-based ASG sub-leader and was a native of the village of Bunut, Indanan, Sulu.
The focused military operations targeting terrorist groups in all other areas continue as well, the military said. (AP/Ruth Abbey Gita/VoxPop Philippines)
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