DAVAO CITY (June 1) — Abu Sayyaf bandits on Friday killed their Dutch Birdwatcher captive while the victim tried to escape in the middle of a military offensive in Patikul, Sulu.
A press statement from Colonel Gerry Besana, information officer of the Western Mindanao Command said, Abu Sayyaf captive Ewold Horn was killed in Sitio Bud Sub-Sub, Patikul Sulu.
.“Horn was shot by one of his guards when he tried to escape from the Abu Sayyaf during this morning’s gunfight,” said Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo Jr., commander of Joint Task Force Sulu.
His remains was transported to Manila and will be turned over to representatives of the Dutch Embassy.
The firefight broke off around 7:41 a.m on Friday, may 31, when the military troop chanced upon 30 bandits led by Radullan Sahiron while they were on blocking position in said village.
The statement said the firefight lasted for about one hour and 30 minutes that resulted in the death of seven people–six bandits, including Mingayan Sahiron, the second wife of Sahiron and Horn.
Horn was the remaining foreign kidnap victim of ASG. He was bird watching along with Lorenzo Vinciguerra of Switzerland when they were abducted on February 1, 2012 in Sitio Luuk-Luuk, Barangay Parangan, Panglima Sugala, Tawi-Tawi.
Vinciguerra escaped from the lair of the bandits in 2014.
Besana said the encounter also resulted in the wounding of 12 ASG bandits and eight soldiers belonging to the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion. He said the number of casualties suffered by the ASG bandits was learned through reports from the residents in the area.-ezc/NewsLine.ph
