ZAMBOANGA CITY – Philippine soldiers killed an Abu Sayyaf militant in a clash Sunday on the restive island-province of Basilan in the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, officials said.
Army Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said soldiers from the 68th Infantry Battalion recovered the body of the slain militant, including his automatic rifle.
Fierce fighting, she said, broke out in the village of Abong-Abong in Maluso town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf. The clashes were fierce that the military needed to dispatch airplanes to attack enemy targets and provide close air support to ground troops pursuing the militants.
The Army also deployed two more battalions – the 64th and 18th Infantry – and Special Forces soldiers to augment those fighting the Abu Sayyaf. The fighting lasted over an hour, Petinglay said, adding, there was no report of military casualties.
“Air assets were deployed to the area to provide close air support to the engaged troops after more than an hour of firefight while Joint Task Force Basilan provided fire support,” Petinglay said.
The Abu Sayyaf is still holding several hostages, mostly seamen whose ships had been hijacked off Basilan, just several nautical miles off Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner)
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