2 soldiers killed, 3 others wounded in Basilan bomb attacks – Army

TWO soldiers were killed and three soldiers were wounded in separate roadside bomb attacks believed to be launched by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan on Tuesday, the military said.

An improvised explosive device was set off while soldiers from the Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion were on patrol at about 8:30 a.m. in Sapa Bulak village in Sumisip town at about 8:30 a.m., Armed Forces public affairs office chief Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo.

Two soldiers were killed and one was wounded.

The injured soldier was brought to the hospital for treatment.

In Tipo-Tipo village in Ungkaya Pukan town, a bomb hit soldiers from the Army’s 18th Infantry Battalion, which left one infantryman wounded from the shrapnel of an M203 grenade launcher at about 10a.m., Cabunoc said.

A firefight that ensued between soldiers and about five to seven bandits left one more soldier wounded.

The military casualties from both bombings were doing routine security duties and were on foot patrol, Cabunoc noted.

Cabunoc could not say if the attacks were related to the arrest of one Abu Sayyaf member early in the day.

Abdullah alias Al Khobar, an ASG member, was arrested by police and military forces in Paniongan village in Lantawan at around 1 a.m.

Last week, one soldier was killed and eight others were wounded in a roadside bombing also believed to be planted by the Abu Sayyaf near Tipo-Tipo and Al-Barka also in Basilan. AC