Two Abu Sayyaf terrorists killed in S. Philippine firefight
Xinhua, April 2, 2015 Adjust font size:
Two members of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf were killed in a firefight with government soldiers in the southern Philippine province of Sulu on Thursday afternoon, the military said.
Antonio Bulao, public affairs officer of the Joint Task Group Sulu, said the clash broke out around 4 p.m. at a village in Patikul town.
Bulao said the troops were conducting a security operation when they clashed with about 80 Abu Sayyaf men, believed led by Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Hairulah Asbang.
Bulao said the troops have already recovered at the encounter site two bodies of Abu Sayyaf members and two high-powered firearms.
Government reinforments were sent to the area while other troops were directed to put up blocking positions, Bulao added.
The 400-strong Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), founded in the early 1990s by Islamic extremists, is a violent Muslim terrorist group operating in southern Philippines.
The ASG is notorious for a series of kidnappings, bombings and even beheadings in southern Philippines over the past decades. Endi