Four dead, 1 injured in Philippine clashes between gov't military, terrorist groups

The military said the first clash erupted around 4:00 a.m. local time on Sunday between troops and suspected Abu Sayyaf fighters in Tawi-Tawi, a remote province in the southern Philippines. The clash, which lasted 10 minutes, resulted in the killing of two Abu Sayyaf fighters.

The military said troops recovered the bodies of the slain fighters, an M16 assault rifle with scope, 123 rounds of ammunition, nine magazines, and a rifle grenade.
According to the military, a second clash broke out around 8:55 p.m. local time also on Sunday in Maguindanao province, between Philippine security forces and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) militants.

The 45-minute fighting resulted in the killing of two government soldiers and the wounding of another, the military added.

Both Abu Sayyaf Group and BIFF are Islamic separatist organizations and terrorist groups based in the southern Philippines.

Abu Sayyaf Group is considered the smallest but the most violent of the extremist groups in the southern Philippines. The group, which has an estimated 400 fighters, is active in the impoverished archipelagic provinces of Sulu and Basilan.

The group is responsible for the series of kidnappings, deadly bombings, ambushes of security personnel, public beheadings, assassinations, and extortion in the Mindanao region.

The BIFF, an Islamic separatist organization, is allegedly behind the series of bombings, robberies and killings in the southern Philippines.