Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — At least 10 Abu Sayyaf fighters and four soldiers were killed in a clash in Sulu early Friday, the military said.
Some nine government troops were also wounded in the fighting in Patikul town, according to Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesman for the military’s Western Mindanao Command.
Tan said troops from the 35th Infantry Battalion encountered around 150 ASG gunmen in Sitio Dyundangan, Barangay Buhanginan at around 10:20 a.m., triggering a gun battle that lasted 45 minutes.
The wounded soldiers were taken to the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City.
The troops recovered only three of 10 bodies of the slain ASG members. The number of wounded ASG fighters is unknown.
“Despite the casualties incurred, the military continues to conduct combat operations against the ASG to destroy the bandits, rescue the kidnap victims and deter terror attacks perpetrated by the bandit group in the province of Sulu and possibly in other provinces as well,” Tan said.
