3 soldiers killed, 6 hurt in Sulu blast as AFP chief checks campaign in province vs Abu Sayyaf

From InterAksyon (Mar 4): 3 soldiers killed, 6 hurt in Sulu blast as AFP chief checks campaign in province vs Abu Sayyaf

Three Army soldiers were killed and six others were wounded when a military convoy was struck by a landmine in Patikul, Sulu late Wednesday morning.

The ambush happened the same day Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. visited Sulu to check on the military’s campaign against the Abu Sayyaf in the province.

Colonel Restituto Padilla, AFP spokesman, said the convoy of two KM45O troop carriers and one M35 truck was carrying troops of the 32nd Infantry Battalion to resupply and secure a road construction project when the landmine exploded along the Pansul-Pangalayahan Road in Barangay Pansul, around 11:55 a.m.

Padilla said he could not confirm reports that two of the fatalities were officers even as he acknowledged that the loss was “saddening on the part of the Armed Forces” and underscored the fact that “the dangers faced by our troops on the ground as they continue with their mission remains high.”

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/106256/3-soldiers-killed-6-hurt-in-sulu-blast-as-afp-chief-checks-campaign-in-province-vs-abu-sayyaf