[Gulf Today] Philippine security forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front killed an Abu Sayyaf militants in a joint operation on the island province of Basilan.Colonel Roland Bautista said a MILF member was also injured in the encounter that occurred in a remote village in the town of Sumisip on Saturday. He said that a MILF team earlier had encountered about 50 heavily-armed militants and called on the military to send in reinforcements.
The military dispatched a team of soldiers and an armored vehicle, the sight of which led the militants to flee in different directions, leaving their slain comrade behind.
He said that during pursuit operations, the soldiers and their MILF counterparts overran an Abu Sayyaf camp. Bautista added, "Close co-ordination between the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the MILF isolated the outlaws."