Firefight erupts in joint PNP, AFP op vs ex Sulu town vice mayor
A joint law enforcement operation conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to arrest former Maimbung, Sulu vice mayor Pando Mudjasan ended up in a gunbattle on Saturday morning, June 24.
Lt. Col. Enrico Gil Ileto, chief of AFP public affairs office, said troops from the 41st Infantry Battalion (41IB) were supporting the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Special Action Force (SAF) 7th Special Action Battalion in serving search and arrest warrants against Mudjasan in Brgy. Bualo Lipid, Maimbung when they were fired upon by the former vice mayor’s group.
The gunbattle occurred around 7:30 a.m.
A report from the AFP said the operation was covered by two search warrants for alleged violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act and RA 9516 for illegal possession of explosives; and three warrants of arrest for frustrated murder, double murder, and multiple murder.
“One soldier was wounded,” Ileto confirmed to reporters. The identity of the injured troop was withheld pending notice of the family.
The PNP also said that there were four cops who were wounded in the incident.
Other details of the firefight have yet to be made public as it’s still ongoing as of this writing.
According to AFP, Mudjasan is also a leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a Moro organization which signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government to establish an autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao.