By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Daesh’s recognized “emir” in the Philippines’ troubled south has been injured in a clash that left three of his guards dead, according to the military Wednesday.
The 103rd Brigade’s commander said Isnilon Hapilon -- a leader of the Daesh-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group -- was wounded in the right leg during an encounter in a forested village in Lanao del Sur province in Mindanao island on Tuesday.
Col. Nixon Fortes was quoted by GMA News as saying that information on Hapilon's condition had been obtained from residents and validated by military intelligence operatives.
In January, Hapilon was reportedly "seriously hurt" during an airstrike in Butig town -- where he had sought refuge with the Maute group, another Daesh affiliate, amid intensified military operations in the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Sulu island province.
After Tuesday’s encounter, troops seized three M-14 rifles, an M-16 rifle with an attached M203 grenade launcher, a Garand rifle, a propelled grenade and improvised explosive devices from the area.
According to Fortes, the Maute group is assisting Hapilon in his efforts to establish a provincial Daesh territory in Lanao del Sur.
"This is not only in Lanao del Sur but in the entire country and this we don't want to happen," he said.
Daesh has endorsed Hapilon as "emir" for Southeast Asia.
A $5 million bounty has been placed on him by the United States government for the kidnapping in 2001 of American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, and fellow American Guillermo Sobero.
Sobero was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf and Martin was killed in crossfire during a rescue operation.
Since 1991, the group -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.