ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 11, 2011) – Three members of a former Muslim rebel group were killed a clash with government soldiers on Sunday in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said.
Officials said one soldier was also wounded in the fighting that erupted in the village of Etub-etub in Sumisip town.
“Troops were serving a warrant for the arrest of several men in the village when some 20 armed men attacked them, sparking a 30-minute running gun battle,” said Army Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.
He said the gunmen escaped on three motorized pump boats toward a nearby island called Saluping. “We have reports that the armed group headed by Abdulbaki Ismanul and Nurrodin Mudalam was supporting the Abu Sayyaf and also involved in kidnappings for ransom in Basilan,” Cabangbang said.
He said troops recovered the bodies of those killed, including two M16 automatic rifles.
The Abu Sayyaf is still holding several people it kidnapped in Basilan, including a US woman and her son who were snatched in nearby Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner)
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