Philippine airstrikes have killed 15 Muslim militants linked to the ISIS group, including a suspected Indonesian militant, while one of Southeast Asia’s top terror suspects was seriously wounded in the country’s south, the military chief said Sunday.
Military Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Ano said the body of the suspected Indonesian militant, known by his nom de guerre Mohisen, was recovered by troops along with three dead Filipino followers of militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was seriously wounded in the hilly outskirts of Butig town in lanao del Sur province.
Eleven other militants were reportedly killed, Ano said, citing intelligence, but added their bodies have not been found.
Hapilon was wounded in the arm and was losing blood after air force aircraft, including FA50 supersonic fighter jets, dropped six 500-pound (225-kilogram) bombs Wednesday night and Thursday on a militant encampment in an ongoing offensive, Ano and another air force official said.
It was the first time that the FA50s, which were acquired from South Korea in late 2015 as the military’s only fighter jets, were deployed in a combat mission.