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ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanews/26 July)– Seven soldiers and four alleged Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed while five other government troops were wounded in a clash Thursday morning in the hinterlands of Basilan province, a military official said.
Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command, said the clash happened at around 7:30 a.m. in Barangay Upper Cabengbeng, Sumisip town.
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The clash took place a day after suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits attacked a military detachment also in Barangay Upper Cabengbeng.
Cabangbang said the troops from the Army’s 4th Scout Ranger Battalion (4th SRB) were pursuing Wednesday’s attackers when they clashed with the armed men Thursday morning.
He did not identify the fatalities from the side of the government except that they are from the 11th Scout Ranger Company of the 4th SRB.
Cabangbang said the bandit group that clashed with the soldiers Thursday was led by an alias Wyms Wakil, reportedly a former official of the Tumahubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative. (MindaNews)