Battle in Basilan: Philippines vows to ‘destroy’ militants who killed 18 troops

Saturday’s clashes on the strife-torn island of Basilan came after an April 8 ransom deadline set by Abu Sayyaf, who had threatened to behead some of their foreign hostages

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Philippine soldiers head to the mountains to secure the release of foreign hostages on the volatile island of Jolo, southern Philippines, in 2014. File photo: AP

Published: 12:36pm, 10 Apr 2016Updated: 8:56pm, 10 Apr 2016

Philippine military officials vowed Sunday to “destroy” the Abu Sayyaf extremist group with more offensives after fierce fighting over the weekend left 18 soldiers dead in the government’s largest single-day combat loss so far this year.

Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and top military officials flew to the south to meet most of the 53 soldiers who were wounded in fighting with Abu Sayyaf militants that raged for nearly 10 hours Saturday in the hinterlands on Basilan island. At least five militants, including a Moroccan fighter, were killed, the military said.

The large number of casualties were reported as the Philippines marked the Day of Valor Saturday to remember Filipino veterans who died in the second world war.

“After we grieve for our soldiers, we shall continue the fight,” Gazmin and the military said in a joint statement.

Philippines Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and military chief General Hernando Iriberri visit one of the 53 wounded soldiers at a military hospital in Zamboanga on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Photo: AFP

Army chief Lieutenant General Eduardo Ano said the military aims to “finally destroy the Abu Sayyaf, especially now that we have found the exact location of the group.”