A GUNBATTLE between agents of the Philippine National Police and a group of men wanted for involvement in organized crime activities including kidnapping and murder in Sulu early yesterday morning left seven of the suspects dead, a report to PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. said.

PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Brig. Gen. Romeo M. Caramat Jr. said that the gunfight took place at the boundary of Bgy. Labah in Maimbung, Sulu and Bgy. Kapuk Punggol in Parang municipality 1:21 a.m. yesterday and ended around 2 in the morning.

The official said that the encounter erupted as members of the CIDG Sulu Provincial Field Unit, the PNP Special Action Force’s 7th Special Action Battalion, the Sulu Police Provincial Office and the Maimbung Municipal Police Station went to the area to serve a warrant of arrest issued by a local court against two of the suspects identified as brothers Juko and Alganer Dawadil Dahim.

The PNP-SAF troopers acted as the lead tactical unit during the risky mission.

“Our operatives were approaching their target area when they were fired upon by the suspects, prompting them to retaliate,” Caramat said.

Officers exchanged fire with the gunmen for nearly 30 minutes and later secured the area while giving first-aid to the wounded.

The PNP-CIDG director said that the rest of the gunmen continued firing at the lawmen from a distance, prompting the policemen to withdraw to a much safer area while bringing with them the wounded suspects.

The wounded men were taken to the Sulu Provincial Hospital in Asturias, Jolo, Sulu, where an attending physician declared them dead upon arrival.

PNP-SAF director Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan O. Okubo said that one SAF commando was wounded during the gunfight and is still undergoing treatment as of press time.

The slain suspects were identified as Juko Dahim, Jimming Akjal, Malik Eron and his still unidentified son, Aldimar Kanih, Gamil Halik and Norhan Pasi.

Juko Dahim, a man wanted for robbery, yielded one M-16 Colt AR-15 automatic rifle with 11 magazines, 401 rounds of cal. 5.56 live ammunition, four M-14 magazines with 80 bullets, 19 pieces of live M-203 ammunition, four ammo bandoliers and a bag containing assorted firearms’ accessories.

Akhal yielded one M-16 Elisco rifle with two magazines and two live 5.56 ammunition.

Eron was found in possession of one M-16 rifle equipped with an M-203 grenade launcher, two M-16 magazines with 20 bullets and one bandolier.

The slain man’s unidentified son yielded one M-16 Colt assault rifle with two empty magazines and a bolo with scabbard while Kanih had one M-16 rifle with two empty magazines.

Halik was found in possession of one M-14 rifle with two magazines containing 41 live ammunition while Pasi, who is wanted for a murder case, yielded one M-14 automatic rifle with magazine containing 14 live ammunition.

Caramat said that two other suspects identified as Rogir Mukattir alias “Rojimar Dahim” and Julmin Aman Asgali were arrested during the operation.

Confiscated from Mukattir and Asgali were one M-14 rifle with two magazines containing 40 live ammunition and a cal. .45 semi-automatic pistol with two magazines with 20 bullets.

A 10th suspect identified as Alganer Dawadil and his other cohorts, who managed to escape, are being hunted.

Caramat said that the suspects are believed to be members/supporters of the late Abu Sayyaf leader Majan/Mjar Sahidjuan alias “Apoh Mike” who gained notoriety for his terrorist activities in the municipalities of Indanan, Parang and Maimbung.

He said that apart from being involved in kidnapping-for-ransom and illegal drug trafficking, the group of Juko Dahim is also wanted for killing innocent civilians and attacking government troopers in Sulu.

“Juko Dahim and his fellows were also wanted for killing former Sulu Police Provincial Office director Sr. Supt. Julasirim Kasim in an ambush in Bgy. Bato Ugis in Maimbung, Sulu on May 7, 2009,” the PNP-CIDG director said, citing a report from the CIDG Regional Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit 9.

The arrest of the two suspects was documented with the use of an Alternative Body-Worn Camera, he said.

Caramat said that there was also no cellphone signal in the encounter site where the policemen took nearly two hours to extract themselves and the wounded suspects.