MANILA. Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least five soldiers have been killed and 23 others wounded as troops clashed with some 50 Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu, an island province in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said on Saturday.
Lt. Col. Gerry Besana of the military's Western Mindanao Command, said an intense firefight broke out around 4 p.m. (local time) on Friday in the coastal town of Patikul in Sulu province as troops tracked the Abu Sayyaf militants.
The gun battle raged for an hour and 30 minutes in a village on the outskirts of Patikul, Besana said.
Besana said the military is still determining if the Abu Sayyaf group also sustained casualties.
Abu Sayyaf is notorious for killings, kidnapping for ransom and a series of bombings on the island of Mindanao.
