 A suspected member of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf gang was killed Tuesday in a clash with government forces in the southern Philippine island of Sulu, the military said Wednesday. Brigadier General Alexandet Aleo, chief of Task Force Comet, said the encounter occurred in Barangay Darayan, Patikul, Sulu, at around 6 a.m. Pursuit operations against the other members of the Abu Sayyaf group were ongoing, Aleo said. Agence France-Presse, quoting Marine commander Colonel Juancho Sabban, had earlier reported that two Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed in the encounter. There were no reports of casualties among the soldiers, the wire agency added. The firefight came a day after a landmine allegedly planted by Abu Sayyaf rebels killed three soldiers in the adjacent town of Maimbung. |