KUALA LUMPUR, March 11- Malaysian security forces continued to attack a group of defiant terrorists from southern Philippines as ‘Ops Daulat’ entered its sixth day in Lahad Datu today. Having entered Sabah 26 days ago, there is no indication that the armed Sulu terrorists wanted to surrender.
Instead, in an eight-hour firefight at Kampung Tanjung Batu in Lahad Datu last night, the intruders took on an aggressive stance, shooting and injuring two members of the General Operations Force (GOF). Reacting to the defiance of the terrorists, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib believes the terrorists have no desire to surrender or call for a
truce, as reported by the Philippine media.
In a follow-up operation, the security forces, involving the police and armed forces, continued their joint operation to track down the terrorists, with the public again reminded not to approach the ‘Red Zone’ which was established since the offensive started on Tuesday. A boy, aged between 12 and 15, was shot and killed this morning, when the security forces were aggressively detecting the enemy.Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said, the shooting incident occurred when members of the security forces heard noises from nearby shrubs while questioning two men and three women in Kampung Sungai Bilis.
“The security forces spontaneously fired towards the shrubs,” he told a media conference at 4.40pm today. Ismail said, 96 individuals, suspected to be connected with the Sulu militant group which intruded into Lahad Datu on Feb 12, were also detained.
He said, 66 others were also apprehended for entering the forbidden zone in the ‘Ops Daulat’ area launched on Tuesday.
The offensive was also expanded to a new area in Kampung Tanjung Batu after the security forces had focused on a mopping-up operation in Kampung Tanduo, about five kilometres from the village.
Meanwhile, in the Semporna district, the police detained four individuals suspected to be intruders. They were among 33 people detained during a two-hour operation at Kampung Pinggir Bakau as they were suspected to have protected, and directly involved with the Sulu terrorists and relaying security information to the enemy.
The sixth day of the operation to flush out the foreign terrorists also saw a group of journalists and photographers bumping into an armed militant during a survey at Kampung Labian, about 20km from the media centre, at Residental Felda Sahabat.
A man, clad in black and holding a firearm was spotted standing near an oil palm tree, about six metres from their position. However, the group was not harmed. Villagers were also seen hurriedly leaving their homes, fearing for their
lives, after hearing shots in the vicinity of the village. In the conflict which started on Feb 12, eight policemen were killed while 53 terrorists were shot dead.
BERNAMA
