2 militants killed, 8 soldiers wounded in clashes with Islamic fighters in southern Philippines

The Philippine military said Sunday that two militants were killed and eight soldiers wounded in fightings between troops and Abu Sayyaf rebels in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

Army Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesman for the Philippine armed forces, said in a statement that two Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed in a brief firefight in Indanan, a town in Sulu on Sunday morning, bringing the total number of dead Abu Sayyaf fighters to 38 since the new government launched a renewed offensive against the criminal group in July.

Tan said that eight soldiers were wounded in another clash that broke out in Patikul town, also in Sulu.

He said the military could not say whether there were militants killed in the incident, saying there are still sporadic fighting until around 3 p.m. Sunday.

The military used artillery and attack helicopters in both clashes in a bid to trap the militants, he said.

In the Indanan clash where two militants were killed, Tan said the military recovered an M16 assault rifle, an M203 grenade launcher and an improvised explosive device.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a military offensive to crush the Abu Sayyaf rebels, saying he has no plan to talk peace with the criminal group engaged in kidnap for ransom, executions, extortions and bombings in the southern Philippines.

Since the military offensive was launched in July, the military said a total of 16 hostages have been "released." However, it said that 14 kidnap victims remain in captivity.

At least 15 soldiers were killed and 28 wounded in the military offensive so far, according to military records.

The Abu Sayyaf is believed to be responsible for a spate of attacks and robberies in the southern Philippines, including kidnap for ransom, bombings, extortions, raids of villages in the provinces of impoverished Basilan and Sulu since the early 1990s.

The military said that there are now about 350 active members of the Abu Sayyaf group, the smallest but the most radical of the extremist movements in the southern Philippines.

The group is active in the impoverished region, where minority Muslims have been fighting for self-rule since the 1970s.

Army Col. Rodrigo Gregorio, head of the military task force that focuses on the war against the militants operating in Sulu, said that the offensive will continue.

"The focus military operation will continue until we deal a crippling blow against the Abu Sayyaf and rescue the remaining hostages," Gregorio said. Endit