13 soldiers killed in Philippines

By DPA

Zamboanga City (Philippines) : Thirteen soldiers, including four junior officers, were killed Saturday in a clash with Islamic militants in southern Philippines, a battalion commander said.


Support TwoCircles

The commander, who requested anonymity, said heavy fighting between the Abu Sayyaf rebels and government troops is continuing in a remote village in Unkaya Pukaan town in Basilan province, 900 km south of Manila.

Among those killed were four lieutenants who graduated from the country’s elite Philippine Military Academy in 2006.

The commander said government troops had also inflicted heavy casualties on the Abu Sayyaf rebels’ side.

Major Eugene Batarra, a regional military spokesman, said two bodies of Abu Sayyaf rebels have been recovered from the clash site.

Thousands of government troops have been conducting massive military operations in Basilan to avenge the killings last month of 14 marines, 10 of who were beheaded or mutilated.

The largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), admitted to the killings of the 14 marines during the July 10 gunfight in nearby Tipo-Tipo town but denied beheading or mutilating any of the fatalities.

The MILF, which is holding peace talks with the government, said the marines entered into their territory without prior coordination in violation of a 2003 ceasefire agreement.

Peace talks between the MILF and the government have been suspended since in September after the two sides failed to agree on how to implement a proposed Muslim homeland in the southern region of Mindanao. The two sides are scheduled to resume negotiations on Aug 22.

Thousands of soldiers have also been deployed in the nearby Jolo Island, another stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf rebels, for a parallel offensive.

SUPPORT TWOCIRCLES HELP SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AND NON-PROFIT MEDIA. DONATE HERE