Soldiers stormed an Abu Sayyaf lair in Barangay Buhe Lahi, triggering a gunbattle with some 20 rebels, Col. Alexander Yapching, Sulu military commander, said.
At least three rebels were killed and an undetermined number of others wounded, officials said.
"The bandits escaped while fighting to (prevent) our troops from closing in," Yapching said.
Brig. Gen. Gabriel Habicon, chief of Task Force Comet, a military unit tasked to run after the Abu Sayyaf, said soldiers of the 53rd Infantry Brigade found an M-14 and two M-16 rifles after the clash.
The guerrillas were believed to be under the command of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang, alias Commander Robot, who was behind the kidnapping of mostly European tourists from neighboring Malaysian resorts in 2000.
Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, Armed Forces spokesman, said government offensives against the Abu Sayyaf have been intensified in Sulu, their stronghold. — Roel Pareño, AFP