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13 gov't soldiers injured in S. Philippine firefight

Xinhua, February 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

Eight members of Abu Sayyaf terrorist group were either killed or injured, and 13 government soldiers were wounded as well in clashes in southern Philippine province of Sulu on Friday, the military said.

Members of the Joint Task Group clashed with 100 Abu Sayyaf men led by Radullan Sahiron, a senior leader of the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu when they conducted a law enforcement operation in Patikul town at 11:50 a.m. Friday, said Ensign Chester Ramos, spokesman of the military's Joint Task Force Zambasulta.

"The encounter lasted for one hour and 30 minutes which resulted in 13 wounded in action on the government side," Ramos said, adding that the casualties from the Abu Sayyaf side were eight who were dragged away by their comrades.

Ramos explained that he cannot yet confirm if the eight were dead or wounded because they were dragged away.

The 400-strong Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), founded in the early 1990s by Islamic extremists, is a violent Muslim terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines.

The ASG is notorious for a series of kidnappings, bombings and even beheadings in southern Philippines over the past decades. The ASG operates mainly in Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi Provinces in the Sulu Archipelago and has a presence on Mindanao. Endi