Photos of the two Sailani brothers, Anni and Iting, who were killed in a clash in Basilan island in the southern Philippines. The two men were implicated in the spate of terrorism and killings of soldiers and policemam, including a news photographer, in the restive Jolo island. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service) ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 21 Jun) – Philippine soldiers gunned down two notorious Abu Sayyaf assassins long wanted by authorities for the spate of killings and terrorism in the troubled southern region, officials said on Thursday.
Officials said soldiers, aided by civilian informants, stormed an Abu Sayyaf hideout and killed brothers Anni and Iting Sailani in a clash Wednesday afternoon in Basilan island. A son of Iting Sailani was also wounded in the fighting.
“The two brothers were ruthless killers. They were behind the spate of killings of soldiers and policemen and even a journalist,” a regional army spokesman, Major Eugene Batara, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
The brothers were implicated in dozens of killings, including the murder of news photographer Gene Boyd Lumawag, who was shot in the head by a lone sniper on November 12, 2004 while on assignment for the local news agency Mindanews on Jolo island.
The Filipino government offered six million pesos rewards for their capture dead or alive.
Aged 26, Lumawag was preparing a report on Aid al-Fitr, the Muslim festivity that marks the end of Ramadan. He was hit by a 45mm bullet in the forehead as he was heading towards the pier in the town of Jolo to photograph the sunset, according to the media watch group, Reporters Without Borders.
Lumawag was one of dozens of reporters murdered and wounded in line of duty in the Philippines, tagged as the most dangerous place for journalist after Iraq. (Mindanao Examiner)
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