Two soldiers and five militants were killed Wednesday in a clash in the southern Philippines, the military said, according to dpa. Sixteen soldiers were also wounded in the fighting in Patikul town on Jolo Island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, said Captain Maria Rowena Muyuela, a regional military spokeswoman. The clash erupted when soldiers swooped down on a suspected hideout of about 300 rebels in the village of Tanum, she said. The militants are holding captive several foreign and Filipino hostages. Soldiers saw at least three of the captives during the clash, said Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc, a national military spokesman.
