A total of nine Abu Sayyaf militants have been killed and 19 others have been wounded in a series of clashes in the southern Philippine Sulu province, the military said on Friday.

The military said that the initial clash erupted at 10:37 a.m. local time on Thursday, when government security forces engaged about 120 Abu Sayyaf militants led by Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron and sub-leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan in a remote village in Patikul, Sulu. The military said a militant was killed in the initial fighting.

Three other succeeding clashes occurred from 3:45 p.m. local time to 5:45 p.m. local time as the troops caught up with the fleeing militants, killing eight other militants and wounding 19 others, the military said.

Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo, the commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the support and cooperation of the local community led to the success of the military operation.

XINHUA