ZAMBOANGA CITY: Abu Sayyaf gunmen ambushed a small group of soldiers traveling onboard motorcycles and killing at least two in a fresh attack on Sunday in Sulu province in the Muslim autonomous region, police said. It said two other soldiers were reported injured in the ambush in the village of Bonbon in Patikul town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf in the province. The Western Mindanao Command and the 1st Infantry Division did not issue any statement on the latest assault on the military, but the attack occurred just two days after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered troops to intensify the anti-terrorism campaign and operations against the Abu Sayyaf. The identities of the victims were not immediately known, but other sources said they were all members of the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion deployed in the province to fight the notorious jihadist group tied to the Islamic State. No individual or group has claimedresponsibilityfor the attack.
