Seven soldiers were killed and 24 others wounded in separate encounters with suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Group in Sulu on Thursday, June 19.
At least 10
members of the ASG were also killed, although only one body was recovered,
according to Captain Maria Rowena Muyuela, spokesperson of the military's
Western Mindanao Command.
Lieutenant
Colonel Ramon Zagala, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP), said in a statement that a military officer was killed after his troops
clashed with an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf members at around 6:20 am on
Thursday, in Barangay Kagay in Patikul.
About 10 minutes
later, 6 soldiers were killed and 13 more were wounded after being hit by an
81mm mortar launched by the Abu Sayyaf in Barangay Kabbon-Takas, Zagala said.
(The number of wounded later rose to 24, based on Muyuela's report late
afternoon.)
"The
remaining troops are still in the area of operations while the casualties were
evacuated," the statement said.
Three
critically-wounded personnel were airlifted to Camp
Navarro General Hospital
in Zamboanga City
The families of
those who had been killed and wounded have yet to be informed of the
development as of posting.
The AFP said that
the incident would not hamper military operations against the Abu Sayyaf.
“The AFP continues
to conduct its focused-military operations against these rebels to ensure the
safety and security of the civilians in the area. Our soldiers did not suffer
in vain for they bravely sacrificed their lives in line of their duty to our
people,” Zagala said.
The attack comes
after the Abu Sayyaf suffered a series of setbacks including the capture in Manila last week of one of its leaders, Khair Mundos, who
is on the US
Days later, two
of his followers were also arrested.
On April 30, 15 –
including one soldier – were also killed in clashes between
government troops and the Abu Sayyaf who were seeking to regain
their captured camp in Patikul.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/61040-soldiers-killed-clashes-abu-sayyaf
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