Two soldiers were killed in a pre-dawn attack by Islamic extremists on Jolo island on Monday, a local military spokesperson said.
Abu Sayyaf bandits fired at a military detachment in the jungles near Talipao town, sparking a 15-minute gunbattle that also left another soldier wounded, said Maj. Filemon Tan.
“It was a treacherous attack. They used the cover of night,” Tan told the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
It was unclear how many attacked the 20 Marines manning the detachment in the remote village of Mapallam, he said.
Attacks by a separate group of Muslim guerrillas in Maguindanao and North Cotabato over Christmas left 10 civilians dead, according to the military.
Kidnappers are holding two Canadian tourists and a Norwegian businessman abducted in September, along with a Dutch birdwatcher kidnapped in 2012.
They are also widely believed to be holding an Italian pizza restaurant owner snatched in the region in October.
The decapitated head of a Malaysian whom the group had kidnapped in May was found in Jolo last month.