MANILA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Philippine troops have killed three militants, including an alleged Abu Sayyaf sub-leader, in two separate clashes in the jungles of Jolo island in southern Philippine provinces of Sulu and Basilan, the military said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the military said Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Angah Ajid and another militant, Sarih Edris, were killed during a firefight that broke out on Tuesday in a remote village of Talipao town.
The military said the troops acted on a tip by villagers about a presence of Abu Sayyaf fighters in the area.
"A 10-minute gun battle ensued, yielding to the deaths of sub-commander Ajid and another militant," the statement read.
The military said Ajid was the last remaining Abu Sayyaf leader involved in the Sipadan kidnapping in 2000. The Abu Sayyaf kidnapped 21 people, including Europeans, from a Sipadan resort off the coast of Sabah, Malaysia, and brought the hostages to Jolo area of the Sulu islands.
The military said soldiers, during the operation, also seized a M14 rifle, a M16 rifle, a M203 grenade launcher and several rounds of ammunition.
In the island province of Basilan, the military said another Abu Sayyaf militant, Adam Sayaff, was also killed during a firefight on Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo, the commander of the military's Joint Task Force Sulu, said villagers have been informing the troops of the presence of militants in the area, prompting the military to launch offensives against the fugitive bandits.
Lt. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, commander of Western Mindanao Command, said tactical offensives will continue in the two provinces' known hideouts of Abu Sayyaf militants.
"As community support amassed, military mounts its offensives to pressure and to defeat Abu Sayyaf militants in the area," he said. "We are committed to end terrorism and to bring internal security in Mindanao."
Abu Sayyaf gained notice in southern Philippines in the early 1990s. It acquired a worldwide notoriety with a series of kidnappings and beheadings.
The Duterte government has formed an army division to hunt down militants blamed for a series of kidnappings and bombings in the southern region, including the Jan. 27 twin bombings in a church in Jolo, Sulu, that killed 23 and injured more than 100.
