Barangay officials said residents reported to the military that a group of three to five armed men landed at the nearby beach at around 11 a.m. and barged into an abandoned private home in Sitio Campo Islam in Barangay Lower Calarian here.
The house was located about 100 meters from the local naval headquarters, where Marines were based.
Marines, who responded to the report, fired back at the armed men who opened fire at their approach, said Armed Forces Southern Command (Southcom) spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero.
One Marine was wounded in the 10-minute gunfight but the other gunmen were able to escape because, Lucero said, the pursuing Marines could only return limited gunfire for fear of hitting civilians.
Barangay chairman Datu Sampang said they could still not determine if any civilian was hurt in the firefight.
"The troops are trying to clear the civilians from the area to avoid being caught in the crossfire," Sampang said.
Inside the house, soldiers recovered a .45-caliber pistol from the slain gunman, along with personal belongings of the others.
According to Col. Alexander Yapching, commander of the military’s Task Force Zamboanga, the gunmen, who were at large as of press time, could be members of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group.
"These are lawless elements and they could be (no one) other than Abu Sayyaf," Yapching said.
Meanwhile, in Maasim, Sarangani, security forces arrested a husband and wife and seized explosives suspected to belong to the Abu Sayyaf group, said Central Mindanao police director Chief Superintendent Jose Dalumpines.
The couple, whom Dalumpines refused to identify pending tactical interrogation, were nabbed on Friday in a barangay near Maasim town and were found to be in possession of mortar shells, firearms and other explosive materials, Dalumpines said.
"The materials used for making improvised explosive devices and a backpack with Abu Ahmad markings tend to show the suspects’ link to the Abu Muslim gang, the extortion arm of the Abu Sayyaf in Central Mindanao," Dalumpines said.
Abu Ahmad is the alias of an Abu Sayyaf leader suspected of hiring a squad of Islamist terrorists who carried out bomb attacks in General Santos City last April which killed 16 people and injured 62 others.
Police said arrest warrants had previously been issued against the arrested couple for illegal possession of firearms and explosives. They are also suspects in four kidnapping cases in Mindanao.