ZAMBOANGA CITY, 3 October 2007 — Government troops clashed yesterday with Abu Sayyaf militants, leaving 14 people dead near the island of Basilan in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said.
Commandos raided a small island called Langhil before dawn and killed ten militants, but four soldiers were also slain in the fighting that lasted 35 minutes, army Maj. Eugene Batara said.
Batara said two more soldiers were wounded in the clash. He said the militants led by brothers Abdurajak and Faizal Sadikal. It was unknown whether the duo escaped or among the dead.
Fighting broke out a day after US Ambassador Kristie Kenney inspected infrastructure projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development in Basilan.
Last month, the US deployed a small team of soldiers on the island to help the local troops fight terrorism after Abu Sayyaf militants killed and wounded dozens of local soldiers in separate attacks over the past months.
Basilan was a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf until government troops, backed by US forces, drove them away in 2001. But the militants have slowly returned over the years.
