ZAMBOANGA CITY – At least 30 Abu Sayyaf rebels and army soldiers were killed and wounded in fierce clashes on Wednesday in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said.
Marine Capt. Maria Rowena Muyuela, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said the fighting erupted in the village of Tanum in Patikul town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.
She said more than a dozen members of the Special Forces and Scout Ranger fought fiercely with some 300 rebels under Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan and killed five gunmen and wounded 14 others.
Two soldiers were also killed and 9 more wounded in the clashes, Muyuela said.
She said military helicopters and ground artillery fire supported the soldiers in their operation against the Abu Sayyaf.
“The operation is a joint effort of the military and police, and local government in Sulu to seize lawless elements responsible in the series of kidnappings and other atrocities in the province and adjacent areas,” she told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The names of soldiers killed in the battle were not made public.
Military and police authorities have blamed the Abu Sayyaf for the spate of attacks and terrorism in the restive Muslim autonomous region in the South. (Mindanao Examiner)
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