THREE members of the terrorist group Abu
Sayyaf and two elite government soldiers died while several
others were injured following a clash in the outskirts of
Maimbung town in Sulu Monday morning, a military spokesman
reported.
Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman of the
military’s Western Mindanao Command, said the troops caught up
with an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf terrorists who were
holding on to two hostages at the village of Ipil in Maimbung at
around 3 a.m.
"We lost two men but we killed three on their
side," Batara said, adding five soldiers were also wounded in
the hour-long gunbattle. "Our troops recovered an assault rifle
and the bodies of three dead rebels. Our wounded have been
airlifted to a trauma unit facility on Jolo town."
He said civilians reported seeing the ASG
members dragging two wounded comrades.
There was no immediate word on
Filipino-Chinese businesswoman Rosalie Lao and another hostage
who were abducted in Jolo exactly a week ago.
Batara said the Abu Sayyaf terrorists they
clashed with were under Abu Pula, alias Dr. Abu; and Albader
Parad, two of the most wanted commanders of the group. Pula has
a $100,000 bounty on his head while Parad has a $15,000 price
for his capture.
Batara said government troops are mounting pursuit operations
against the ASG terrorists. – Victor Reyes and Reuters
