ZAMBOANGA CITY – Three Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) gunmen were killed while 26 others, including 16 soldiers, were wounded during a 90-minute firefight at a remote sitio in Patikul town in Sulu, Tuesday afternoon.
Maj. Filemon Tan, Jr., AFP Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) spokesman, reported that soldiers from 32nd Infantry Battalion led by Lt Col. Ramon Flores encountered about 200 heavily armed ASG bandits about 2:20 pm, at Sitio Bud Duwa Bayho, Barangay Pansul in Patikul, Sulu.
The 30-minute firefight between the military and the ASG left three bandits dead and 10 others wounded.
Tan said 16 government troops were wounded and immediately brought to Kuta Heneral Teodolfo Bautista Trauma Hospital in Busbus, Jolo, the capital town of Sulu, for treatment.
The 45th Infantry Battalion overrun two major ASG camps in Barangay Sinumaan, Talipao, Sulu, as the military continues surgical type of military operations against the ASG in Sulu. (Nonoy E. Lacson)