Nine killed in militant attack on Philippines' Bohol island

Nine people including four Philippine security officials were killed Tuesday during clashes with the Abu Sayyaf kidnap group on a popular resort island as millions prepare to travel for the Easter holiday.

The incursion on Bohol island would be the first on a key Philippine tourist destination in recent years by the group which pledges allegiance to the Islamic State and often targets foreigners in the lawless southern Mindanao region.

Five gunmen were killed while four assault rifles and an improvised explosive device were recovered in the fighting, officials said.

"We're quite worried... we are afraid of hostage situations," said Khent Guimalan, who works at the front desk of the upscale Bohol Beach Club.

Following the clash authorities distributed photos of suspected Abu Sayyaf members asking locals to report any suspicious activity, according to Guimalan.

Local officials said the militants had used fast boats Monday to reach a village where they squared off against security forces early Tuesday.

Security forces have been on alert for "potential activity on the part of some lawless elements" during the peak Easter tourist season, military spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said.

The armed men sailed upriver from Inabanga, a farming and fishing coastal community some 780 kilometers away from the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Jolo in the southern Philippines, local police told AFP.

Bohol, about 600 kilometers south of Manila, is among the country's top tourist draws.

Three soldiers and one policeman were killed in the fighting, according to a joint statement from the region's military and police.

"The clearing operations are ongoing and we are pouring in more forces to help and assist," Padilla, the military spokesman, added.

The authorities said sporadic fighting continued at sundown.

SS