ZAMBOANGA CITY, 8 March 2004 — At least 5 Abu Sayyaf rebels were killed and five soldiers wounded in fierce clashes in the southern island of Jolo, military officials said yesterday. The fighting, which started on Friday, have already killed five gunmen near the village of Pansol in Patikul town where Marine soldiers stormed a suspected hideout of the Abu Sayyaf group tied to Al-Qaeda terror network, said Capt. Petronilo Magno, the deputy commander of naval forces in the south. “Marine soldiers have killed at least five rebels, but intercepted enemy messages suggested more Abu Sayyaf casualties in two days of sporadic clashes that began Friday in Patikul (town),” Captain Magno told Arab News. He said the fighting ended late Saturday when the rebels, numbering several dozens, split into smaller groups and retreated deept into the jungle. Magno said troops were still tracking the rebels in Patikul, a traditional enclave of Abu Sayyaf forces under rebel leader Radullan Sahiron.
