Six terrorists killed in two-day clashes in southern Philippines

Hanoi (VNA) – At least six suspected terrorists were killed in two days of fighting between the Philippine troops and Abu Sayyaf militant group over the weekend in the Southern 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 in the first fighting that broke out in a village near Patikul town in Sulu around 2:40 pm on November 23.

Five more terrorists were killed and two soldiers were wounded in the second clash that happened in Indanan town around 3:30 pm the next day, the AFP said.

The troops also recovered several firearms, ammunition and mobile phones in the encounter site.

Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the AFP's Western Mindanao Command, said the operations were launched to rescue the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping victims, including a 70-year-old British man and his Filipino wife.

Abu Sayyaf is considered the smallest but the most violent of the extremist groups in the southern Philippines. The group, which has an estimated 400 fighters, is active in the impoverished island 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, and hides them in Philippine jungles or remote islands./.