2 Soldiers Wounded In Sayyaf Attack In Jolo Island

JOLO ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 05 Nov) - Two government soldiers were wounded in an Abu Sayyaf attack in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, where security forces are battling the al-Qaeda-linked homegrown terrorist group, a regional army spokesman said Sunday.

Major Eugene Batara said one attacker was captured by soldiers after a firefight in Jolo island late Saturday. "Two soldiers were wounded in the attack, but one of the gunmen had been captured after a running gun battle," he told the Mindanao Examiner.

The soldiers were returning to their base from a humanitarian mission on a remote village when they came under fire, Batara said, adding, that another gunman managed to escape.

"Initial reports said the attackers are members of the Abu Sayyaf's UTG and our forces are tracking down the rest of this group in Jolo," he said.

Batara was referring to the hit squad called urban terrorist group, blamed for the series of assissinations of soldiers and policemen in Jolo and Zamboanga City.

Philippine authorities blamed the Abu Sayyaf for the string of bombings and kidnappings in the troubled region. (Mindanao Examiner)