ZAMBOANGA CITY, 13 November 2005 — At least 3 soldiers were killed in fierce clashes yesterday between security and Abu Sayyaf forces in Jolo island in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said at least a dozen soldiers were also wounded in the fighting that erupted in the two hinterland villages of Candilamon and Bunaza in Indanan town. A still undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf gunmen were either killed or wounded in the fighting, officials claimed.

“Fighting is going on in these villages and more soldiers were sent to fight the Abu Sayyaf,” said air force Maj. Gamal Hayudini, the information chief of the military’s Southern Command headquarters.

He said the fighting was triggered by an Abu Sayyaf attack on a group of patrolling soldiers late Friday in the village of Buanza, which continued the next day.

Another Abu Sayyaf faction also attacked soldiers in Candilamon village.

Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan has ordered military forces in Jolo to intensify their campaign against the Abu Sayyaf.

Jolo island’s military commander Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo said three soldiers were killed and nine others wounded in the village of Buanza, and that 3 more soldiers had been shot and injured in Candilamon all yesterday.

Aleo said he ordered fresh reinforcements in Indanan to fight the Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is tied to the Al-Qaeda terror network. “We launched fresh operations against the Abu Sayyaf terrorists and the fighting is still going on. This is part of the government’s campaign against terror,” Aleo told Arab News.

Aleo said his group is pursuing two of the most notorious Abu Sayyaf leaders in Jolo island, Albader Parad and Radulan Sahiron, both included in Washington and Manila’s most wanted terror lists.

“We will get them sooner or later. There is no room for terrorists in Jolo island and many Muslims are supporting and helping us. They are providing information about the Abu terrorists,” he said.

Parad and Sahiron are both wanted for the series of terrorism and kidnappings in the southern Philippines. The military said the duo were behind many killings in Jolo, about 950 kms from the Manila, including the kidnappings of 21 mostly Asian and Western holiday-makers in a raid on the island resort of Sipadan off Sabah, Malaysia in 2001.

Sahiron was also implicated in the kidnappings of three Hong Kong and a Malaysian fishery workers off Jolo in 1998 and dozens of Filipino missionaries on the island.

Manila offered 5 million pesos each for the capture of Parad and Sahiron, and Washington put up a bounty of as much as 5 million dollars on their heads.

The United States also offered as much as $10 million bounty for the capture of its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani.