8 Marines killed in Abu Sayyaf ambush in Sulu

Eight Marine soldiers were killed Monday afternoon in an ambush staged by Abu Sayyaf bandits in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, military officials said. AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col, Romeo Brawner Jr, said troops from the 4th Marine Battalion Landing Team were on their way to their base when they were waylaid by the Abu Sayyaf at Sitio Talatac in Bato-bato village around 1:30 p.m. Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan, head of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 4 (MBLT 4), said his men were able to return fire, resulting to the death of five bandits. “Five died on their side and scores were wounded," he said. Brawner said the soldiers came from the Abu Sayyaf camp at Sitio Talibang in Barangay Buansa, Indanan town that the troops overran last Sunday. “They were on a convoy when they were ambushed. They came from the camp where they had a flag raising (ceremony)," said Brawner, adding that the attackers belonged to the group that they dislodged from the seized enemy camp. “This is the same group that the Marines attacked yesterday. They counter-attacked," he said. The Abu Sayyaf is a loosely organized group of Islamic fundamentalists that has links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network. - GMANews.TV