3 wounded as Abus storm Sulu village

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Three persons were wounded when suspected Abu Sayyaf militants stormed a village in Patikul town in Sulu on Friday, security officials reported yesterday.

The bandits, armed with assault rifles, fired rifle grenades near a Marine detachment at around 1:30 p.m.  in Barangay Bungkaong, said Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto, head of the 2nd Marine Brigade and Joint Task Force Sulu.

Pinto expressed belief that the detachment could be the target of the attack.

All shots fired by the bandits from an M203 grenade launchers hit civilian houses.

The Marines retaliated prompting the bandits to retreat.

Marine soldiers applied first aid treatment to the victims before they were taken to the hospital.

Pinto said the raid was followed by another attack on a detachment in Barangay Latih. No one was reported wounded in the incident.

Security around Patikul was stepped up following the spate of kidnapping incidents perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf militants who held their captives in the area.

Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said they have intensified their operation against the Abu Sayyaf particularly now that the government has finally forged the peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Guerrero said they would maximize the operation against the militants and other threat groups once the normalization annex of the agreement will be implemented.