2 Rangers, 5 Abus killed in Sulu clash

MANILA, Philippines—Two soldiers and five Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) extremists were killed while 26 others were wounded in a fierce gun battle between the Army’s elite Scout Rangers and 300 ASG in the outskirts of Sulu province on Tuesday.

Government troops, backed by air and artillery support, pounded the ASG, forcing the extremists to retreat, according to the Armed Forces public affairs office, quoting reports from the field.

Those wounded included 12 soldiers and 14 Abu Sayyaf members, said AFP spokesperson Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc.

“This is a deliberate law enforcement operation against the Abu Sayyaf bandits,” Cabunoc said.

He said troops from the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion under Joint Task Group-Sulu had launched the operation and clashed with the ASG group led by Hatib Sawadjaan and Furuji Indama in Barangay Tanum beginning at 9.20 a.m. on Tuesday.

He said Indama’s group had moved from Basilan province to Sulu because of military pressure from an ongoing operation by Joint Task Force-Basilan, local officials and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which signed a peace agreement with the government last year.

JTG-Sulu and JTF-Basilan launched an all-out offensive against the ASG late last year.

Cabunoc said the Marine Battalion Landing Team-2 conducted a blocking operation to prevent Abu Sayyaf reinforcements from coming in.

All military units in the area also established blocking forces and checkpoints to arrest withdrawing ASG members, he added.

The running gun battle was still going on as of press time on Wednesday.