MANILA (AP): Philippine troops battled about 100 al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants led by two top terror suspects on a southern island, leaving two soldiers dead and 10 others wounded, officials said Thursday.
The Abu Sayyaf group was led by Radulan Sahiron, a one-armed senior commander, and Abu Pula, also known as Dr. Abu, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro.
Two soldiers were killed in the five-hour clash Wednesday, and 10 wounded were taken to a hospital, army spokesman Maj. Ernesto Torres said.
He said scores of militants were believed killed, but no bodies were retrieved.
There was no word on whether two Indonesians wanted for alleged involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings were among those in the battle in Jolo island's Indanan town, about 950 kilometers(590 miles) south of Manila.
The Indonesian militants, Umar Patek and Dulmatin, who goes by one name, are believed to be hiding on Jolo with the Abu Sayyaf after fleeing from Indonesia in 2003.
Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, the army's commanding general, ordered troops to pursue the militants, Torres added.
In a raid Monday, U.S.-trained Filipino commandos, along with marines, captured three Abu Sayyaf militants but missed Patek and Isnilon Hapilon, another Abu Sayyaf commander, who escaped, saidarmy Brig. Gen. Ruperto Pabustan.
Monday's raid took place in Talipao, in the heart of Jolo. Indanan is a coastal town about 30 kilometers (18 miles) to the west.
A U.S.-backed offensive by up to 10,000 Philippine soldiers led to the killing of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani in September and his presumed successor, Abu Sulaiman, in January on Jolo.
No comments:
Post a Comment