Marine killed, another wounded in Sulu clash

A member of the Philippine Marines was killed while another was wounded in an encounter with suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Indanan, Sulu in southern Philippines on Monday, the spokesperson of the military’s Western Mindanao Command said. In a text message to reporters Tuesday, Major Ramon David Hontiveros said the clash occurred at Sitio Talatak in Barangay (village) Bato-Bato in Indanan, Sulu at 2:15 p.m. Monday when the Marines providing security for engineers were fired upon by the al-Qaeda-linked bandits. At the time, the engineers were to on their way to repair the Talatak Bridge. "Apparently, the enemy did not want the people to benefit from the bridge. Hence, they prevented our engineers from repairing it," Hontiveros said. Hontiveros did not identify the fatality and the other wounded soldier. He added that the Abu Sayyaf suffered "an undetermined number of casualties." The incident is the latest in a spate of attacks on soldiers in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. On Tuesday last week, two United States Navy personnel and a Filipino Marine were killed in a land mine explosion along a road in Indanan. US Navy Seabees Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. did not disclose the identities of the three casualties but said the American fatalities were members of the US Navy Seabees who were involved in humanitarian missions in Sulu. The blast is believed to be the first incident where American soldiers were killed since American troops were deployed to Mindanao to help combat militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in 2002. The Philippine military had blamed the extremist Abu Sayyaf and the regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah for the attack on the US soldiers. It said those killed in the roadside bombing were non-combatants. However, a group claiming to be allied with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) claimed responsibility for the attack. Madarang Sali, deputy commander of the Bangsamoro National Liberation Army, said the attack on the American soldiers was in retaliation for the continued operations of the US and Philippine military against the MNLF in the southern province of Sulu. - GMANews.TV