Soldiers killed two Islamic extremists and injured five others in the southern Philippines as government forces continued searching for two kidnapped filmmaker sisters.Abu Sayyaf group members opened fire upon a military helicopter on the southern island of Jolo on Thursday, leading the armed forces to counter-attack, said Marine commander Colonel Jose Cenabre. He said, "The aerial attack was launched immediately on the area which led to the two killed," followed by a ground assault.
He added there had been no sightings of Linda Bansil and her sister, Nadjoua, who were seized in the area of the attack on Saturday while working on a film about Jolo's impoverished coffee farmers.
The abduction shocked local residents, with the Muslim sisters active in human rights activism and having worked on films showing the plight of the Muslim minority in the Philippines.