Seven Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terro­rists, including a notorious sub-leader, were killed and 17 soldiers and six Islamists were wounded in fierce clashes in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, officials said on Saturday. Michael Asistores, when they encountered around 100 fully armed Abu ASG members under senior leader Radullan Sahiron and sub-leaders Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan and Idang Susukan in Barangay Bakong, Patikul, Sulu, on Friday. He added that the wounded soldiers were brought to the Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital in Jolo, Sulu, for treatment. “Cadavers of the slain ASG members were also brought to the same hospital for forensic examination and proper disposition,” Besana said. The Abu Sayyaf Group is fighting for the establishment of a caliphate in the troubled, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao in southern Philippines.

Source: Manila Times September 15, 2018 16:30 UTC