At least 18 Philippine soldiers were killed and 53 others wounded during clashes between government troops and the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group on Basilan island on April 9.
Hanoi (VNA) – At le𝐆ast 18 Philippine soldiers were killed and 53 others wounded du🍬ring clashes between government troops and the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group on Basilan island on April 9, according to the Philippine military.
Spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command Major Filemon Tan said that four soldiers were beheaded in the fighting against about a hundred Abu Sayyaf rebels.
Five Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed, including one Moroccan national, and 20 others were injured in a nine-hour gun battle on the island of Basilan, he said, adding that military operations were launched against the group after a series of abductions of foreigners.
Established in the 1990s, Abu Sayyaf consists of some 400 Muslim extremist rebels in the southern Philippines. They are infamous for kidnapping foreigners and demanding huge ransoms as well as carrying out beheadings.
The group was said to be responsible for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines, including the 2004 Manila Bay ferry bombing which left 100 dead.
It is fighting for an independent Islamic nation in the region.-VNA
The Philippines military on December 4 said the country’s security forces have detained a local suspected an Islamist extremist linked to the kidnapping of Malaysians in the Philippines.
The Philippines’ troops said on December 15 at least 13 Abu Sayyaf insurgents were killed while the government army had two lost and ten injured in a fighting in Basilan province, South Philippines.
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Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf rebels (Photo: AP)
