Troops clash with Sayyaf in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 20, 2012) – An undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed in a clash Friday in the restive Muslim province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said Special Forces soldiers and pro-government militias clashed with about 20 militants near the village of Upper Cabengbengin Sumisip town where security forces were hunting down the Abu Sayyaf blamed for the series of attacks in the province that killed and wounded many civilians the past weeks.

“There were no reports of military casualties, but ground forces reported a still undetermined number of enemies were killed and wounded in the fighting,” Army Captain Albert Caber, a spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Caber said the fighting stopped after the militants broke into smaller groups and fled to the hinterlands. He said soldiers recovered 3 automatic rifles and a grenade launcher left behind by gunmen.

He said informants tipped off the military about the presence of Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the area and that troops were immediately sent to the village to track down the militants, whose group is tied to the terrorist al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya.

Last week, at least 8 soldiers were wounded following a roadside bombing by the Abu Sayyaf near the village of Mangalin Sumisip town. Militants also ambushed farm workers on their way to work in the town and killing 6 people and wounding 10 others. (MindanaoExaminer)