ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Five Moro extremists were killed and one government militiaman was wounded when troops attacked an Abu Sayyaf camp in the rebel’s stronghold in Basilan province Tuesday.

A day earlier, two Marine troops were wounded in an attack staged by the same bandit group in Indanan town in Sulu province.

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Major General Benjamin Dolorfino said one of the dead in the Basilan clash was identified as Ridwan Musa, an Abu Sayyaf sub-commander who was linked to a string of kidnappings in the country.

“We recovered two bodies…and as per intelligence report, three other Abu Sayyaf men were also killed, including Ridwan Musa… He is a sub-leader of the Abu Sayyaf, one of the known leaders of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan,” Dolorfino said.

The camp was in the village of Tuburan Proper on Basilan island, said Dolorfino, the military’s Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) commander.

Dolorfino said elements of the 9th Marine Battalion Landing Team assaulted a lair of the Abu Sayyaf bandits in sitio Bohe Kimeh in Barangay Tuburan, Hadji Mohammad Ajul town in Basilan around 1 a.m.

The Abu Sayyaf bandits then put up a resistance until around 6:30 a.m. when they withdrew.

A government militiaman, Rommel delos Reyes, was injured in the operation.

The Wesmincom commander said Musa has a number of pending cases before the court, including kidnapping.

The military recovered one M16 rifle, a Garand rifle, a rocket propelled grenade, and an M79 grenade launcher, at the clash site.

On Monday afternoon, two Marine troops were wounded in an attack staged by the bandits in Indanan, Sulu, Wesmincom spokesman Major Ramon David said.

David said the attack took place around 2:45 p.m. Monday in sitio Talatak, Barangay Bato-Bato in Indanan municipality.

He said the troops were manning an observation post in sitio Talatak when an undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf bandits attacked them.

Hontiveros withheld the identities of the wounded Marine soldiers except in saying they were slightly injured and were brought to Trauma Hospital at Camp Bautista in Jolo, the capital of Sulu.

He said the troops stood firm on their positions and repelled the Abu Sayyaf attackers, dragging along with them their casualties.

"The firefight lasted for about five minutes and the terrorists (Abu Sayyafs) were forced to withdraw dragging their numerous casualties," he said.

The government forces have strengthened the security measures following the series of atrocities perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu.

Monday's firefight came two days after a clash ensued between the government forces and rebels that allied with the Abu Sayyaf in the village of Patibulan, Panamao town.

The troops have killed a rebel and recovered an M-16 Armalite rifle during the firefight, which ensued around 6:45 a.m. Saturday.

Terrorists

Also on Tuesday, a Malacañang official endorsed the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) recommendation to brand the Abu Sayyaf group as a terrorist organization, stressing that the bandits are a menace that should be neutralized as soon as possible.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said the recommendations of NBI Regional Director and Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) chief Ricardo Diaz is “worth considering” given the criminal activities that the bandit group had previously engaged in.

“I think there is nothing wrong with that… because we should eliminate this completely. The Abu Sayyafs have given us enough trouble. So, if authorities like NBI recommends this, I think it is worth considering,” Fajardo said.

The militants, suspected of receiving funds from al-Qaeda, are notorious for bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings.

The Abu Sayyaf is believed to have about 400 fighters and is suspected of sheltering militants from the larger Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

An estimated 600 US troops are stationed in the Philippines, mostly in the south to help Philippine troops fight the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. (Bong Garcia/VR/JMR/Sunnex)