President Rodrigo Duterte gave his marching order to crush terrorist group Abu Sayyaf by December 31, 2019.
“That is what President Duterte wants,” Major General Cirilito Sobejana, Western Mindanao Command (WESTMINCOM) Commander said on Monday.
The pronouncements of Sobejana comes after the Sulu twins blasts that killed at least eight individuals and 22 injured last Friday.
Military officials say that the change of military leadership could be another factor why terrorist groups perpetuated such attacks.
“I believe it was perpetrated to create the impression that they are still a force to reckon with. In terror attacks you don’t need many fighting men,” Sobejana said.
A joint investigation between the military and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region police are underway to know the group behind the attack.
The Islamic State earlier claimed that their suicide bombers started the twin explosions in Sulu.
