The Philippine military said on Wednesday it had launched an air and ground assault against Islamic militants wanted for a spate of kidnappings, with 14 militants and one soldier killed in the clashes.
The fighting began on Tuesday after marines overran a camp of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group on the heavily forested island of Jolo, military spokespeople said.
“We have employed air support using MG-520 helicopters and (artillery) shelling, which resulted in large casualties on their side,” said a spokesman for the marine unit engaged in the battle, Captain Ryan Lacuesta.
Fourteen Abu Sayyaf members and one marine died on Tuesday, and clashes continued into Wednesday, national military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said in Manila.
The military captured the Abu Sayyaf camp on Monday on the fringes of the small Muslim-populated town of Patikul, 950 kilometres south of Manila, a well-known stronghold of the group.
The camp had been used as a training ground for the Abu Sayyaf’s new recruits and as a launching pad for its frequent kidnapping raids, said Captain Rowena Muyuela, spokeswoman for the military in the south.