Philippine troops have killed a suspected would-be suicide bomber from Egypt, as well as two local militants of Daesh (ISIS) offshoot organisation Aby Sayyaf, in what military officials say is “a setback [for Abu Sayyaf] that would make it harder for gunmen linked to the Islamic State group to stage suicide attacks,” Associated Press reported.
The Egyptian was identified by the military only as Yusop, and officials say both his parents had also died in gunfights with troops in the Philippines. A military commander said Yusop’s death would “cut off foreign financial support to Abu Sayyaf.”
The small but violent group has long been blacklisted by the Philippines, as well as regional nations Indonesia and Malaysia, for the crimes of ransom kidnappings, beheadings of hostages and deadly bombing attacks.
