COTABATO, Philippines, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Three suspected Al-Qaida affiliated militants were killed and five Filipino soldiers injured in a clash on Wednesday in the restive southern Philippine island of Sulu, the military said on Thursday.

    Regional military spokesman Major Ramon David Hontiveros said another militant, believed to be a member of the Abu Sayyaf group was injured when they clashed with government troops in the MasjidBayle Village of Cauang Township.

    The spokesman said five soldiers were wounded and three bodies of militants were recovered after the encounter.

    The military has stepped up offensives against the Abu Sayyaf after it released three international Red Cross officials after months of abduction.

    The group, blacklisted by Washington as a foreign terrorist organization, is considered a major security threat to the Philippines and the region engaged in kidnappings, bombings and even beheadings in the South over the past decade.