MANILA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- At least three soldiers have been killed and 17 wounded during heavy fighting between Philippine government troops with Abu Sayyaf militants in southern Philippines, an army spokesman has said.
Maj. Filemon Tan of the Philippine military's western command said in a statement the fighting broke out around 10 a.m. Saturday local time in a remote village of Patikul, Sulu province as troops tracked the militants.
Tan said the the gun battle raged for an hour and 45 minutes.
"The (troops) continue to conduct pursuit operations and intensify the conduct of focused military operations to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu," Tan said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to hunt down Abu Sayyaf members, who are believed to be behind kidnappings for ransom in the area. The Philippine leader said he does not plan to forge a peace deal with the groups.
Duterte has met with his counterparts from Indonesia and Malaysia to discuss a coordinated security plan to curb the activities of Abu Sayyaf in Sulu sea that borders the two Southeast Asian countries.
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