GOVERNMENT forces attacked, seized and destroyed a camp of Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron in the outskirts of Patikul, Sulu last Friday, a military commander reported yesterday.

Lt. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, said that based on their information, Sahiron was at the camp when the troops commenced operations but he managed to escape. "There is no indication that he died," he said.

Dolorfino said an Abu Sayyaf member died and two soldiers suffered minor injuries during the clash.

He said the incident was only made public yesterday upon the termination of the pursuit operations against the group of Sahiron, one of the prominent Abu Sayyaf leaders wanted by both the Philippine and US governments.

Dolorfino said Marine soldiers under the Joint Task Force Comet assaulted the Abu Sayyaf camp located at Sitio Kanbaddal in Patikul’s Barangay Panglayahan around 10:30 a.m. Friday.

He said sporadic but intense fighting went on until the afternoon and the military dispatched MG-520 attack helicopters and utilized artillery fires to support the ground troops. He said a group of elite Scout Ranger soldiers who recently arrived in Sulu were also inserted into the area through helicopters to reinforce the Marines.

Dolorfino said the Abu Sayyaf bandits, whose number was not immediately known, fled to the nearby town of Talipao, with their casualties. During clearing operations, Dolorfino said the troops recovered an Abu Sayyaf member buried in a shallow grave.

Recovered from the camp were an improvised explosive device and ammunition.

The feat came about two weeks after AFP chief Gen. Delfin Bangit directed military forces in Sulu to significantly reduce the strength of the Abu Sayyaf within the next two months.