Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, 3rd Marine Brigade commander, said government troops pursuing Abu Sayyaf terrorists managed to overrun the bandits, killing six of them in Barangay Kaunayan.
Sabban said the Marines Special Operation platoon encountered the withdrawing terrorists, triggering the firefight.
Task Force Comet chief Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo said elements of the 5th Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) engaged about 80 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in a fierce running gunbattle.
Fighting also broke out in the nearby village of Darayan almost simultaneously which left one Abu Sayyaf killed, reports from the military’s Southern Command said.
"The series of encounters was a result of our forces’ relentless hunt against these terrorists. Until they are there we will continue to hunt and neutralize them," Aleo said.
The military said the troops encountered the same group of terrorists who fled from the offensive launched Wednesday by the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion.
Two Army Scout Rangers were killed while 17 others were wounded in the fierce fighting Wednesday in Barangay Danag.
The firefight ran for almost two hours before the bandits disengaged the attacking troops and split into small groups fleeing to several directions.
Aleo said the Marines anticipated the withdrawal of the Abu Sayyaf so they waited until dawn to surprise the bandits.
The fresh government casualties have brought to 21 the number of soldiers wounded with two killed since Wednesday.
The military initially suffered seven wounded when it launched the offensive last Aug. 1 in Indanan town to get Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffi Janjalani and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants Dulmatin and Umar Patek, both wanted for the Bali bombing in 2002.
Aleo believed that the three have not slipped out of Sulu since intelligence reports indicate they are still holed out in the island after the military overran their training camp and bomb-making facility in Indanan. — With Jaime Laude