3 alleged Abus, 2 soldiers killed in Sulu encounter

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A clash that erupted between government troops and suspected Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists on a southern island Monday had resulted to the deaths of three rebels and two soldiers, an official said. "Three terrorists were killed and two of our soldiers are also slain in the fighting in Sulu. There is an ongoing operation against the terrorists," Army Major Eugene Batara, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, told GMANews.TV. Batara said five soldiers were also wounded in the clash that began shortly before 3 a.m. "The soldiers were on a mission to rescue a kidnapped trader when they encountered the terrorists," he said. It was not immediately known whether the group was holding Rosalie Lao, 45, who was kidnapped Jan. 28 outside her home in Jolo town. Lao, who buys and sells Malaysian goods in Jolo, is a Filipino Muslim with Chinese ancestry. Last week, troops on nearby Tawi-Tawi island shot and killed an Abu Sayyaf commander, Wahab Upao, but missed the Indonesian terror suspect, Dulmatin, one of several operatives of the Indonesian-based militant group Jemaah Islamiyah believed to be hiding in the southern Philippines. Dulmatin has been implicated in the 2002 bombings that killed 202 people in Bali, Indonesia. The Abu Sayyaf, linked to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for bombings, kidnappings and beheadings. US-backed offensives against the group have reduced its strength to about 300 guerrillas from more than 1,000 during its heyday in 2000, according to the military. - Al Jacinto, GMANews.TV