Patikul Sulu (Google maps)
MANILA — A soldier was killed while 10 of his colleagues were injured after Abu Sayyaf bandits ambushed them in Sulu Thursday morning, a military spokesperson said.
Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Mindanao Command spokesperson, said the soldiers from the 10th Infantry Batallion were after a group of 10 to 15 bandits believed to be holding kidnap victims.
“There was information that a group of armed men were sighted with kidnap victims,” Petinglay said.
He said the soldiers tried to locate the bandits when they were ambushed at around 5:20 a.m. in Barangay Tado Bagua, Patikul, Sulu.
“Along the way, when they were getting near (the bandits’ location), they were fired upon by the armed group,” Petinglay said.
“There was a 15 to 20-minute firefight. Unfortunately, 11 of our soldiers were wounded and one of them expired while he was being revived,” she added.
Petinglay said government troops have been conducting pursuit operations against the bandits. SFM
Patikul, Sulu (Wikipedia maps)