Twenty-three members of the Abu Sayyaf group recently surrendered in the provinces of Basilan and Sulu, the military said.

A press release from the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) in Zamboanga City said the military's all-out offensives "compelled" the bandits to lay down their arms and yield to authorities.

Fifteen supposedly surrendered to the troops of the 64th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Tumahubong, Sumisip, Basilan Province.

Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders Nur Hassan Lahaman, aka Hassan, and Mudz-Ar Angkun, aka Mapad Ladjaman, surrendered to the troops of the 64th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Tumahubong, Sumisip along with 13 of their followers.

The group turned over 9 high-powered firearms, including a caliber .50 sniper rifle, an M16 rifle, an M79 40mm grenade launcher, 5 garand rifles and a caliber .30 springfield rifle.

Four more Abu Sayyaf and Kidnap-for-Ransom-Group (KFRG) members submitted themselves to the troops of the Joint Task Force Basilan on Thursday, the military said.

They were identified as Patta Salapuddin, aka Patta, 53; Asbi Salapuddin, aka Asbi, 32; Sayyadi Salapuddin, aka Saya, 31; and Arci Salapuddin, aka Arc, 20. They turned over 2 M16 rifles and an M79.

The Salapuddin brothers are linked to the Abu Sayyaf and KFRG sub-leader Alhabsy Misaya, according to the Wesmincom. They were allegedly involved in the recent seajacking of M/V Super Shuttle T/B 1 on March 23 this year.

The 19 bandits who surrendered in Basilan are now undergoing processing and debriefing by the Basilan Provincial Police Office, said the military.

Meanwhile, 4 Abu Sayyaf members also surrendered to the Joint Task Force Sulu last week.

Husain Nasirin, 22, and Hasir Asara, 24, yielded to the troops of the 501st Brigade in Indanan. In a separate incident on the same day, sub-leader Udon Hussiem, aka Udon Hasim, 40, and Haidal Kimar, 25, also surrendered to troops.

The Abu Sayyaf members also turned over one (1) M16 rifle and one (1) Garand rifle to the government forces.

Nasirin and Asara turned over an M16 rifle and a Garand rifle to the government forces. Hussiem and Kimar also surrendered an M16 and an M14 rifle to the soldiers.

A total of 40 Abu Sayyaf members have already surrendered to government forces, with most of them also turning over their firearms and ammunition. Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command, vowed to continue pressing on the terror group.

"We will continue to pound on the remaining Abu Sayyaf members until we get the last of them. With the solid support and backing we are getting from the Local Government Units, the traditional and religious leaders, from the MILF and the MNLF, we are positive that we will all be successful in this fight against terrorism," he said.

- with a report from Jewel Reyes, ABS-CBN News