An Islamic-trained bomb expert who had been liaising between the global terror network and the Abu Sayyaf bandit group in Mindanao was killed Friday in a military operation in Patikul, Sulu, the military said Saturday.
The man was identified as Talha Jumsah, alias Abu Talha, considered a high-value target of the military in Sulu, slain during a 20-minute battle with army elite Scout Rangers in Sitio Tubig Amu. Barangay Tanum, Patikul at about 7:15 a.m. the other day.
His body was recovered 800 meters away from the encounter site during a clearing operation in the aftermath of the fighting with soldiers from the Ist Scout Ranger Battalion and the 1101st Infantry Brigade.
''Abu Talha is a high-value target of the AFP in Sulu. Accordingly, he is an ISIS-trained Improvised Explosive Device expert who served as an instructor to the ASG in the fabrication of a more lethal and destructive IEDs that caused tremendous casualties during the suicide bombings in Sulu,” Major Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, said.
“He also served as the financial conduit and liaison between foreign and local terrorist communication lines,” Vinluan added. Vinluan attributed the killing of Abu Talha on the information shared with the government by the civilian community in Patikul town.
The encounter, Vinluan said, was a follow-up operation against ASG bandits and their movements in the bushy area in Sitio Tubig Amu.
The ASG extremists and Talha were monitored by the troops and intercepted the terrorists whiuch sparked the gunfight. Operating troops recovered personal belongings, cooking and dining utensils, a backpack, and uniform while blood stains were also seen in the encounter site.
Three soldiers were wounded but are now in stable condition in Camp Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital in Busbus, Jolo.
''The death of Abu Talha will surely cause demoralization in the ASG ranks in Sulu. It could not have been made possible without the support of the Tausug community who reported the presence of the armed terrorists and volunteered to serve as guides during the conduct of combat operations,” said Brig. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the 1101st Infantry Brigade.
Vinluan lauded the operating units who carried out the combat operations to stop Abu Talha as he gave stern waming that the AFP in Sulu would not stop in hunting down the remaining ASG members in Sulu until all of them were brought to justice.
''I am reiterating my appeal to them to surrender and live a normal life instead of being hunted down as fleeing criminals and a disgrace to the peace-loving Tausug Community. One by one, we will hunt you down,” Vinluan emphasized.
The ISIS-inspired ASG has launched suicide bombings in military posts in Mindanao since January this year that killed three soldiers at a military post while a female, two Egyptians and a Moroccan, were killed in failed suicide bombing attempts.
President Rodrigo Duterte had ordered the military to “destroy” the ASG following the deadly blasts at a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu that left more than 20 people dead.
Duterte told the soldiers to crush the ASG by “whatever means.”
The military is presently hunting down at least three more foreigners they believed as suicide bombers.
READ: 8 soldiers injured, Abu bandits killed in Sulu clash
READ: 2 Abu Sayyaf killed, 2 hurt in clash with troops in Sulu