ZAMBOANGA CITY – Abu Sayyaf rebels have killed 3 army soldiers in fierce clashes in the southern Philippines where security forces are battling the notorious group tied to the Islamic State, the military said Sunday.
It said 17 other soldiers were wounded in the fighting that erupted on Saturday in Patikul town in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao Island.
There was no report of Abu Sayyaf casualties, but the battle lasted more than 2 hours. Troops were tracking down the rebels who are still holding over 2 dozen Malaysian and Indonesian sailors when they ran into a huge group of gunmen, believed to be under a senior Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron, and a fire fight ensued.
The fighting was so fierce that the military scrambled to send more soldiers in the area to help reinforce the troops in the town. They also fired artillery on suspected Abu Sayyaf positions in Patikul’s hinterlands where the gunmen broke into smaller groups and engaged the army soldiers in vicious battle.
Security forces were also pursuing another faction of Abu Sayyaf rebels in nearby Basilan, also in the autonomous region, who are believed holding 6 Vietnamese sailors they had kidnapped November 11 at sea while their cargo ship MV Royal 16 carrying cement was sailing for Davao City.
The crewmen have been identified as Do Trung Hieu, Hoang Vo, Tran Khac Dung, Huang Trung Thong and Huang Van Hai and its captain, Pham Min Tuan. (Mindanao Examiner)
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