Filipino troops kill 8 militants

MANILA: Eight more Abu Sayyaf extremists have been killed and a top militant commander has been wounded as Philippine troops pressed a major offensive in the country’s south following the killings of 18 soldiers in fierce fighting over the weekend, the military said Monday.
Regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan said four Abu Sayyaf gunmen who were wounded in battle Saturday later died and four other militants were killed in fresh fighting Sunday in the hilly outskirts of Tipo Tipo town on Basilan island.
A ruthless Abu Sayyaf commander, Puruji Indama, was seriously wounded in the head either by gun or artillery fire, Tan said. Indama has been linked to deadly bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings of Filipino marines.
Daylong fighting in the outskirts of Basilan’s Tipo Tipo town left 18 soldiers dead Saturday in the military’s largest single-day combat loss so far this year. The killings occurred as the Philippines marked its Day of Valor holiday to remember its war dead.