1st LD Writethru: 9 killed between government forces, bandits clash in central Philippine

At least three soldiers, a policeman and five bandits were killed in a clash broke out between government forces and the Islamist extremists on Tuesday in the central Philippine Bohol province,the Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP) said.

Gen. Eduardo Ano, the AFP's chief of staff, said in a statement that government troops and police "encountered a group of heavily armed lawless elements in Bohol" around 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

Ano said that the military launched the "security operation" in the wake of the intelligence reports that at least 10 armed men aboard three pump boats were sighted on the riverside of that village.

"The information came for alert residents and other citizens," Ano said.

Ano said that the heavily-armed group has been "cornered in an isolated" area of the village.

"Additional forces from the Army, Air Force and the Navy are now onsite to assist engaged AFP personnel and law enforces," Ano said, adding that "firefight is still ongoing."

A latest statement issued by the military and police in central Philippines said that three soldiers, a policeman and five Abu Sayyaf members were killed in the firefight.

"At this moment, our combined forces are conducting clearing operations to resolve this incident in the soonest time possible," the statement read, adding that "tactical victories have been accomplished."

Meantime, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronal dela Rosa confirmed that a joint military and police operation were launched Tuesday to thwart the attack in central Philippine Visayas region.

He said that the bandits are holed up in at least three houses in the village.

The U.S. Embassy and the Australian Embassy in Manila warned over the weekend issued its respective citizens to be careful, adding the embassies have received "unsubstantiated yet credible information that terrorists may attempt kidnappings in central Visayas, which include both Cebu and Bohol provinces."

Deal Rosa said on Monday that the PNP has indeed received information of a potential terrorist threat in the central Philippines.

In a news conference at the main police headquarters, Dela Rosa said that the police has been alerted although it has yet to receive details of the threat.

The military has been fighting the Abu Sayyaf rebels since 2000.

Abu Sayyaf is one of the smallest and most violent jihadist groups operating in the southern Philippines notorious for kidnappings, bombings and attacking civilians and the army.

The group, numbering about 500, has been sowing terror in the southern Philippine region since the early 1990s.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to crush the Abu Sayyaf militants notorious for criminal and terror activities in the southern Philippines, including bombings, murder and kidnap for ransom. Endit