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Manila: Five people were killed, including three militants and two soldiers, following a one-hour clash during a kidnap-rescue operation in a remote village in the southern Philippines on Monday, military officials said.
Troops of the US-trained navy and the army's special forces were killed in a firefight in Ipil village, Maimbung town at 2.55 am yesterday, said Lieutenant General Nelson Allaga, Western Mindanao Command chief.
Three members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) were killed, said Allaga, adding that military men recovered their bodies during a clearing operation.
'Collateral damage'
But unofficial reports also claimed that five to 10 civilians had also been killed, said Allaga, who admitted, "There was collateral damage during the encounter."
Seven people, including five navy men and two ASG members, were wounded in the same encounter, said Allaga.
The clashes occurred after soldiers were sent to rescue two locals, including Maria Rosalie Lao, a trader, who were snatched by gunmen last week, said Major Eugene Batara of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).
The soldiers belonged to the elite forces trained by the US Special Forces to track down the ASG in Jolo and Basilan islands, Batara said.
Refuge
Last week, troops shot and killed an Abu Sayyaf commander, Wahab Upao on Tawi-Tawi island. But they missed Dulmatin, an Indonesian national and a member of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) who has been seeking refuge with ASG members in the southern Philippines.
Dulmatin has $10 million (Dh36.7 million) bounty on his head for his alleged responsibility in the bombings that killed 202 people in Bali, Indonesia in 2002. The ASG and the JI have alleged links with the Al Qaida network of Osama Bin Laden.
-With inputs by Rafael Juan, Correspondent
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