By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY
A commander of the Abu Sayyaf insurgency was among those wounded in a two-day battle between government troops and militants in the southern Philippines, the military said Thursday.
Capt. Rowena Muyuela, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan was injured in a prolonged engagement on the island of Sulu that began Wednesday morning.
She said earlier that two soldiers were killed and 16 wounded while 14 Abu Sayyaf were killed and 16 injured.
The fighting began when the army encountered a 100-strong force of Abu Sayyaf fighters near Patikul town, Sulu province – a stronghold for the al-Qaeda-linked group.
