Filipino commandos clash with Abu Sayyaf rebels

A battle was raging between soldiers and Abu Sayyaf rebels in the southern Philippines, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said yesterday.

She prefaced a policy speech on utility reform by announcing that troops were pursuing the group's two main leaders and had already overrun four camps of Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to al-Qa'ida. "We are now having a major battle in Sulu, right in the camp where the Abu Sayyaf was born," she said.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the fighting was a continuation from a clash on Thursday between 200 Philippine army commandos and about 150 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas tracked by US surveillance planes on the southern island of Jolo.

An army officer was killed and six others wounded in the 30-minute battle with rebels believed to be led by Khaddafy Janjalani, who is on a list of Philippine terrorists wanted by the United States.

More troops were deployed yesterday. The area is "thickly vegetated" and offers cover and "a lot of high ground and exit points" where rebels can escape, the source said.

The Southern Philippine commander, Major-General Ernesto Carolina, said there were simultaneous operations against rebels in three areas to stop them from linking up.

Abu Sayyaf has been a persistent thorn in the side of the government with kidnappings for ransom, murder and other crimes. Their most recent abduction involved 102 hostages.

About 1,000 US special forces, pilots and support staff are on a six-month mission to train and advise Filipino troops fighting Abu Sayyaf. An official said American satellites were used in the offensive.