By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
Dozens of Abu Sayyaf militants have been killed in an offensive on their Sulu island province stronghold, the Philippine military said Thursday.
Gen. Joselito Kakilala told reporters in Manila that 36 insurgents had been killed in the campaign, which is entering its second week. Another 78 militants were wounded while the security forces have suffered seven deaths and 44 injured.
Sulu and Basilan provinces, which span a number of islands in the southwest of the Philippine archipelago, are bastions of the al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group, which was founded in the 1990s and has gained international attention by kidnapping foreigners for ransom.
The military also reported three soldiers killed by a roadside bomb on Wednesday in Patikul town, Sulu.
