Rebels Kill 11 in Clashes With Philippine Troops
Fierce clashes between Philippine marines and Abu Sayyaf rebels on the southern island of Jolo left at least 11 soldiers dead and 26 others wounded, military officials said Saturday.
Government bombers and attack helicopters took turns blasting suspected positions of an Abu Sayyaf faction believed to be holding hostage four Jehovah’s Witnesses, all women, the officials added. There were no immediate reports on rebel casualties.
The women were abducted Aug. 20 while selling Avon cosmetics in a remote village on the troubled island. There were no reports about the women’s fate. Three Indonesian tugboat crewmen also are being held by the Muslim extremists.
Philippine military officials said the marines encountered what they believed to be a large group of Abu Sayyaf along with followers of Nur Misuari, a former governor of an autonomous Muslim region now in jail for allegedly fomenting rebellion.
Other marines deployed elsewhere on Jolo were sent to the area.
The guerrillas have split into smaller groups and are engaging the soldiers in scattered gun battles in the jungle, military sources said.
U.S. military support helped Philippine troops debilitate the Abu Sayyaf over the summer on Basilan island, but Manila now is fighting an Abu Sayyaf faction on another island, Sulu.
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