Philippine security forces (File photo AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Atleast six suspected terrorists were killed in two days of fighting between thePhilippine troops and Abu Sayyaf militant group over the weekend in theSouthern city of Sulu, said the Philippine military on November 25.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP) said an Abu Sayyaf fighter was killed and five soldiers were wounded inthe first fighting that broke out in a village near Patikul town in Sulu around2:40 pm on November23.
Five more terrorists were killed andtwo soldiers were wounded in the second clash that happened in Indanan townaround 3:30 pm the next day,the AFP said.
The troops also recovered severalfirearms, ammunition and mobile phones in the encounter site.
Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana,commander of the AFP's Western Mindanao Command, said the operations werelaunched to rescue the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping victims, including a 70-year-old British man and hisFilipino wife.
Abu Sayyaf is considered the smallestbut the most violent of the extremist groups in the southern Philippines. Thegroup, which has an estimated 400 fighters, is active in the impoverishedisland provinces of Sulu and Basilan.
The group was responsible for a series of kidnappings-for-ransom,deadly bombings, ambushes of security personnel and public beheadings in the southern Philippines.
The group preys on foreign tourists,businessmen and fishermen, andhides them in Philippinejungles or remote islands./.
VNA
