7 Filipino marines killed, 21 wounded in clash in Manila

A Philippine military official says seven marines were killed and 21 others were wounded in a fierce jungle clash with a large group of al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants.

A Philippine military official says seven marines were killed and 21 others were wounded in a fierce jungle clash with a large group of al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants.

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Regional military spokesman Lt Col Randolph Cabangbang says that the platoon of marines managed to penetrate a jungle encampment of more than 50 Abu Sayyaf militants in mountainous Patikul township in southern Sulu province when a gunbattle erupted on early Thursday.

Cabangbang says that it was not immediately clear if there were casualties among the militants, who were led by Radulan Sahuran, a one-armed commander long wanted by US and Philippine authorities for a string of terrorist attacks.