KOTA KINABALU: Two suspected Abu Sayyaf militants were killed in a shoot-out with security personnel in Pulau Timbang Sandakan in the early hours of Friday (Aug 20).

       Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali said the two were shot dead at around 5am during an operation on a group of suspects in the area.

       “A press conference on this matter will be held at 11am,” he said.

       Hazani said firearms used by the suspects were also seized following the shoot-out, adding that no policemen were injured in the firefight.

       This operation comes after another at a mangrove area near Taman Sri Arjuna in Beaufort district on May 8.

       Eight suspects were nabbed while five others were subsequently shot dead in another crackdown in the same area on May 17.