ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Philippine government troops fought with a heavy number of Abu Sayyaf militants in the south Thursday, killing three, including a soldier and two militants, and injuring six, security officials said Thursday.
The fighting erupted as troops from the 21st Infantry Battalion clashed the combined factions of 3 Abu Sayyaf leaders at the village of Panglayahan, Patikul town in Sulu province, an area known to have strong presence of militants believed to have links with the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Islamic State (IS).
Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) said the fighting lasted for 30 minutes as the troops battled about 150 militants.
Tan said the Abu Sayyaf group withdrew after they sustained heavy casualties, including two deaths and six wounds.
He said government soldiers captured the harbor area abandoned by the Abu Sayyaf group and also recovered one M14 sniper rifle of the militant.
The military said the Abu Sayyaf militants reportedly are holding at least 23 hostages, including Dutch, German, Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese. But Tan said there was no immediate report of sightings of the hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf group.
