Philippine troops kill 40 ISIL-linked Abu Sayyaf terrorists

The Philippine army has killed at least 40 members of the ISIL-affiliated Abu Sayyaf terrorist group and injured 25 others in the country’s volatile south, a military official says.

According to regional military spokesman, Major Filemon Tan, who was speaking on Monday, the casualties occurred in two battlefronts in the country’s southern islands in the first major counter-terrorism operation under the new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte which started last week.

He said 22 militants were killed and 16 others sustained injuries in the assaults that began in the jungles of Sulu islands, located about 950 km south of the Philippine capital of Manila.

Tan added that 18 Abu Sayyaf terrorist were killed and nine others wounded in a simultaneous offensive on the nearby island of Basilan.

One Philippine soldier was reportedly killed in the fighting in Sulu.

Abu Sayyaf, quite well-known for its kidnappings, beheadings and deadly bombings, was founded in 1991 on southern Basilan island with a pledge to wage a war against the government.

Abu Sayyaf members are in constant clashes with the Philippine forces across the troubled region.

SS