Majan Sahidjuan, known as Apo Mike, was seriously wounded in a shootout with the Marines on Saturday night in the town of Languyan, in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi, and died later, said Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr.
He described Sahidjuan as the mastermind of several kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf, who is based in Sulu and has also been involved in bomb and piracy attacks for decades. Since 2014, he has proclaimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.
“We are happy that all the hostages are safe now and we can also neutralize the notorious ‘Apo Mike’ and two of his comrades,” said Vinluan, commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command.
Sahidjuan was among the five Abu Sayyaf militants who went to Tawi-Tawi by boat from Sulu, with his four Indonesian kidnapping victims last Thursday.
Their boat capsized after being hit by big waves, giving government troops the chance to rescue three of the four hostages – Arizal Kasta Miran, 30; Arsad Bin Dahlan, 41; and Andi Riswanto, 26.
The fourth Mohd Khairuldin, 15, was found by government troops in the same village where the shooting occurred.
The four hostages were among five Indonesians kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf on January 17 last year in Tambisan, Malaysia. One of the five was killed while trying to escape.