THREE policemen and a Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) militia were wounded in an ambush staged by Abu Sayyaf bandits late Wednesday, December 4, in the province of Sulu, officials said.

Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Monfort, Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS) information officer, said the joint police and BPAT team were on security patrol when the Abu Sayyaf bandits ambushed them around 6:50 p.m. in the village of Buhanginan, Patikul, Sulu.

Monfort said a five-minute firefight ensued as the lawmen returned fire and fought back the Abu Sayyaf bandits, who fled to different directions upon sensing the arrival of reinforcement from the Army's 6th Special Forces Battalion.

He said troops rushed the wounded policemen and BPAT member to Camp Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Hospital in Jolo, the capital of Sulu, for treatment.

The ambush occurred five hours after an Abu Sayyaf bandit surrendered and turned over a firearm to military in Sulu.

The Abu Sayyaf surrenderer said "a lot of his comrades are now planning to surrender and are just waiting for an opportunity to escape," according to Lieutenant Colonel Alaric Avelino Delos Santos, Army's 41st Infantry Battalion commander. (SunStar Zamboanga)