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Thursday, August 09, 2007
4 killed, 7 wounded in Sulu, Basilan clashes
By Bong Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Fighting broke out anew between government troops and al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits resulting in the death of three bandits and a soldier in the island province of Sulu.
Seven soldiers--five from the Army and two from the Marines--were also reported wounded in separate clashes that broke out on Tuesday and Wednesday after a lull in the fighting that followed the death of top Abu Sayyaf leaders in Sulu.
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The military said the clashes took place in Mount Tubora, Indanan early Tuesday and early Wednesday in Barangay Sampunay, Parang, where the bandits are believed holed up.
The two Marine soldiers from the 3rd Marine Brigade were wounded in the Indanan clash while three bandits and an Army soldier died and five others injured in the fighting in Parang.
The report said the Marines were scouring Mount Tubora when they clashed with the bandits Tuesday. The bandits were believed to have suffered undetermined casualties.
The troops from the Army's 33rd Infantry Battalion were patrolling the area when they fought the bandits Wednesday in Parang town, according to the report.
Combined Marines and Army forces under Joint Task Force Comet (JTFC) had been pursuing the Abu Sayyaf bandits, who are reported to be sheltering Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists Dulmatin and Umar Patek.
Dulmatin and Patek were tagged as the masterminds in the 2002 resort bombing in Bali, Indonesia that killed 2002 people, mostly Caucasians.
In the nearby province of Basilan, Ungkaya Pukan Town Mayor Joel Maturan reported that the Abu Sayyaf bandits allegedly backed by some Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members attacked Monday night the Marines and paramilitary troopers stationed in Barangay Sungkayot of the newly created municipality.
Sporadic mortar shelling took place in the forested area of Ungkaya Pukan town on Tuesday after the Marines launched pursuit operations against the perpetrators of Monday's harassment.
Thousands have fled their homes since the July 10 ambush of Marine troops perpetrated by bandits allegedly backed by some MILF rebels in the nearby town of Al-Barka, also a newly created town.
Ungkaya Pukan and Al-Barka were crafted out from the town of Tipo-Tipo and created as new municipalities in Basilan last year through an act of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's Regional Legislative Assembly. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (August 9, 2007 issue)
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