ZAMBOANGA CITY: Four Army soldiers from the 14th Scout Ranger Company were wounded in a roadside bombing on Monday morning in Basilan. Major Filemon Tan, Western Mindanao Command spokesman, said the soldiers were patrolling Barangay Sabong in Lamitan City when the bomb went off. He said the injured soldiers – whose identities were not immediately known – were evacuated to a military hospital in Zamboanga City. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the province is a major stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which pledges allegiance to the Islamic State. Just recently, suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits hijacked a Vietnamese cargo ship, MV Royal 16, and shot and wounded one of its crew and abducted its captain and five other sailors.

Source: Manila Times November 14, 2016 13:59 UTC