Majan Sahidjuan, aka Apo Mike, was seriously injured in a shootout with the Marines in the town of Languyan in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi on Saturday night and later died, Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jr.
He described Sahidjuan as the mastermind in several kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf, who is based in Sulu and has also been involved in bomb attacks and piracy for decades. Since 2014, it has declared allegiance to the Islamic State group.
“We are happy that all hostages are now safe and we are also able to neutralize the infamous ‘Apo Mike’ and two of his comrades,” said Vinluan, commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command.
Sahidjuan was one of five Abu Sayyaf militants who took the boat from Sulu to Tawi-Tawi last Thursday with their four Indonesian kidnapping victims.
Their boat capsized after being battered by large waves, allowing government forces to rescue three of the four hostages — Arizal Kasta Miran, 30; Arsad Bin Dahlan, 41; and Andi Riswanto, 26.
The fourth, 15-year-old Mohd Khairuldin, was found by government forces in the same village where the firefight took place.
The four hostages were among the five Indonesians kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf at Tambisan, Malaysia on January 17 last year. One of the five died in an escape attempt.