MANILA — Philippine forces clashed with extremists on a southern island Thursday, leaving eight soldiers and four militants dead, the military said. Elite rangers battled members of the Abu Sayyaf group on the troubled southern island of Basilan, with three soldiers and two insurgents also wounded in the clash. The Abu Sayyaf gunmen had initially attacked rubber plantation workers in the island and the military had rushed to the scene to repel them, said regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang. Army Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz said government forces struck in the morning after the military pinpointed an encampment of Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for past attacks in Sumisip township. Sporadic fighting continued until afternoon, with reinforcement troops deployed. Helicopter gunships were deployed to support the troops, he said. “The fighting is taking place in a forested area. Our troops are engaged in an intense running gunbattle," Cabangbang said. Cruz said seven soldiers and four militants were initially killed.But one of the wounded soldiers later died while being evacuated, raising the military's death toll to eight, said army spokesman Maj. Harold Cabunoc. Officials said the militants belong to the same group that ambushed a truckload of rubber plantation workers in Sumisip two weeks ago. Five farm workers and one government militiaman were killed in that attack, while 22 others were wounded. On Wednesday, the same group of militants attacked a military detachment securing the rubber planters' cooperative but no soldier was killed or hurt, Cabunoc said. The plantation workers' cooperative operating in the area had previously received extortion letters purportedly from the Abu Sayyaf demanding payment of over $1,000 a month in exchange for not being harmed. The heavily-forested island of Basilan has long been a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf. The group has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history including deadly bombings and kidnappings for ransom, often targeting foreigners. — Agencies
