MANILA, Philippines – Day-long clashes between Al Qaida-linked Muslim militants and Philippine troops on a southern island killed 12 army soldiers and four rebels, the military said Friday. It was one of the bloodiest days in recent weeks in the volatile south.
The violence started early Thursday when soldiers attacked an Abu Sayyaf encampment on Basilan Island’s Sumisip township. The battle left eight government troops and four rebels dead, Army Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz said.
The army sent more troops and sporadic fighting continued until the afternoon.
Later in the day, the Abu Sayyaf militants fired at an army outpost in the same township, said Capt. Albert Caber, a military spokesman. They then separately ambushed two groups of troops sent to back up the forces there.
No one was killed at the outpost, but four reinforcement troops were killed en route to the area, Caber said.