SULU – Security forces clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants leaving 23 casualties on the military side in the southern Filipino province of Sulu, reports said Saturday.
Radio network dzMM said the fierce fighting erupted in Patikul town where troops clashed with militants under Hajan Sawadjaan. It said four soldiers were killed and 19 more wounded in the battle.
There was no report of enemy casualties, but security forces have been battling the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and Basilan in the restive Muslim autonomous region. The military did not release any statament.
In May, three soldiers were also slain and 17 others wounded in fighting in Patikul’s hinterlands, a known str0nghold of the Abu Sayyaf, blamed by authorities for the spate of terrorism and ransom kidnappings in southern Philippines and Sabah.
That fighting also killed at least 11 militants, among them Sawadjaan’s brother Taha, according to the military.
The Abu Sayyaf is still holding several Filipino and foreign hostages and had freed three people in Sulu recently after receiving ransom from the victims’ families. (Mindanao Examiner)
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