An alleged sub-leader and a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group were killed in an encounter with Marines in Panamao, Sulu Friday.
Major Emery Torre, of the Marine Corps public affairs office, identified the slain ASG men as Hatib Munap Binda and Bencio Barahama.
The Marine Battalion Landing Team 1 composed of the Weapons and Special Operations Platoon, Force Reconnaisance Group, and a rifle company figured in an encounter with the group of sub-leader Binda in Barangay Kawasan, Bud Bawis.
Col. Ruben Candelario, commander of 4th Marine Brigade which oversees the operations of the MBLT-1, said they have been monitoring the whereabouts of Binda until they received a tip about his location.
It was not immediately clear if Binda's group had plans to carry out a kidnapping activity when they were neutralized by the Marines.
After the firefight, the troops scoured the area and recovered the bodies of Binda and Barahama along with an M16 rifle and two M14 rifles, among others.
There was no casualty recorded on the side of the government forces.
According to military intelligence, Binda was a senior sub-leader of the ASG units operating in Kalingalan Caluang and Panamao.
He was associated with the late ASG sub-leader Al Habsi Misaya, who had been involved in a series of kidnappings in the tri-boundaries of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines, the military said. Al Habsi was killed in a clash with the Marines in Sulu in 2017.
Barahama was identified by the military as a follower of ASG leader Radullan Sahiron, who masterminded several kidnap-for-ransom activities in the province, including that of Swiss birdwatcher Lorenzo Vinciguerra in February 2012, and Indonesian fishermen Maharuddin Bin Lunani and Muhammad Farhan earlier this year.
Barahama was accused of being involved in the kidnapping of at least 10 residents in Sulu, the military said.
"The death of Binda is considered a big blow to the terrorist group," Torre said, as he vowed that the Marine Corps – especially the 4th Marine Brigade Team – will "maintain their offensive against the ASG and will never hesitate to use all ground assets to neutralize them."