TWO soldiers died while another was injured in a roadside bomb explosion in the island province of Basilan, an official said Friday.
Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, Naval Forces Western Mindanao Command (Navforwesmin) chief, said the incident took place around 6 a.m. Friday in the village of Pamatsaken, Sumisip town.
Pama said the troops were sent to Pamatsaken village checking on the reported presence of two kidnapped Chinese nationals when they accidentally tripped off on a landmine buried at the side of the road.
The victims were elements of the Bravo Company of the Army's 32nd Infantry Battalion, Pama said.
The remains of the slain soldiers were brought to Zamboanga City, while the wounded soldier was brought to Camp Navarro General Hospital for treatment.
Pama said the troops had been tracking down the kidnappers that held captive two Chinese nationals in the hinterlands of Sumisip town.
Abducted are Zi Shun Lu alias Oscar Lu, 51, and Bo Shung Tan alias Michael Tan, 27, both from Guanzhou Province, mainland China.
They were seized by 30 gunmen together with Marques Singson, 36, on November 10 last year from a plywood factory in the village of Townsite, Maluso town.
Singson was beheaded a month after they were kidnapped.
Pama said the troops will continuously scour the hinterlands of Sumisip, citing there is a strong indication that the two Chinese nationals are being held in the area.
Friday's incident was the second roadside bombing incident for this month that killed and injured troops from the Army's 32nd Infantry battalion in Sumisip, Basilan province.
A soldier was killed while seven others were wounded when the truck they were riding tripped off a landmine around 11:20 a.m. on February 2.