THREE marine soldiers and one Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorist were killed in an encounter in Patikul, Sulu on Friday morning, October 26.
Three other soldiers were wounded and brought to the KHTB station hospital for treatment, said Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana.
He said soldiers of the Joint Task Force Sulu under Brigadier General Divino Rey Pabayo encountered an undetermined number of ASG members under sub-leaders Alnijar Ekit and Aldi Alun in Barangay Timpook.
Besana said the body of a suspected ASG terrorist was recovered from the battle area.
He believed there were more casualties among the terrorists.
“Based on human intelligence, initial results of the ongoing firefight include a number of severely wounded bandits that probably could have died due to loss of blood,” he said.
He said the troops recovered an M14 rifle and seven M14 magazines from the area.
Besana said the soldiers are conducting hot pursuit operations against the ASG members involved in the firefight. (SunStar Philippines)