11 soldiers wounded in Sayyaf ambush in Sulu

From the Mindanao Examiner (May 25): 11 soldiers wounded in Sayyaf ambush in Sulu

Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed a group of army soldiers and wounded at least 11 of them in a daring attack on Thursday in the Patikul town in the southern Filipino province of Sulu, reports said.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command has not released any information or details of the attack and officials also did not reply to questions by journalists following the situation on the province. But other reports said the soldiers were all members of the 1oth Infantry Battalion deployed in Sulu to pursue the Abu Sayyaf.

The 1st Infantry Division to which the soldiers were assigned was also silent over the ambush which coincided with military operations against Abu Sayyaf ally Maute group that recently attacked Marawi City in the southern province of Lanao del Sur.

Just recently, two Abu Sayyaf militants Musa Jamil Alsid, 19, and Mohammad Waddang Udding, 20, were killed in a clash with troops from the same army unit in Sandah village also in Patikul town, a known lair of the notorious group allied with the Islamic State.

The bodies of the slain militants, including three M16 automatic rifles, were recovered by soldiers.

Security forces are battling Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. The group is still holding about 2 dozen hostages, mostly foreign seamen kidnapped at sea in Basilan and Sabah in Malaysia.

http://mindanaoexaminer.com/11-soldiers-wounded-in-sayyaf-ambush-in-sulu/