ZAMBOANGA CITY: Government forces clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants on Tuesday and killed five gunmen, including their leader, in the largely Muslim province of Basilan, officials said. Marine Maj. Ramon David Hontiveros, a regional military spokesman, said a government soldier was also wounded in the fighting on a village called Langgong in Tuburan town.

“Troops recovered two bodies of those killed in the clash, but intelligence reports suggested that three more terrorists were killed,” he said.

The military identified the slain leader as Ridwan Musa, however, it was unknown whether his body was among the two cadavers recovered by soldiers.

The fighting lasted more than 30 minutes, but other reports in Basilan said those killed were members of the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila.

Marines led by civilian guides allegedly encountered the Abu Sayyaf band while on patrol on the outskirts of Tuburan town.

It was believed that the Abu Sayyaf were recruiting members in the area when the Marines came upon them, Hontiveros said.

The bodies of two Abu Sayyaf members and the three wounded guerrillas were dragged away by their compatriots, he said.

Television reports later on the day quoted police as saying that government militias clashed with the gunmen and that an anti-tank rocket left behind by the band was recovered from the village.

Dozens of soldiers and rebels, including two members of the US Special Forces helping the local military defeat the Abu Sayyaf, were killed and wounded since fighting erupted in September in Sulu province.

The war was triggered by a military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, which coincided with the celebration of the Eid’l Fitr marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan. A few hundred US troops have been deployed in Sulu since 2006 to help Filipino forces fight terrorism.

The Abu Sayyaf, set up in the 1990s allegedly with money from al-Qaeda, has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history, including a series of bombings and kidnappings.
With reports from AFP