Thirteen assailants and two soldiers were killed when a little-known militant group attacked a military outpost in the lawless southern Philippines on Sunday, the army said.
About 50 men attacked the Marine outpost on the strife-torn island of Jolo before dawn but the troops fought back, driving them off, said regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang.
He said two soldiers were killed in the gun battle, and the military had recovered 13 of the assailants’ bodies.
Cabangbang identified the attackers as members of the “Awiiyah group”, which he described as a “radical” organisation with links to the Abu Sayyaf.
He would not provide further details on the group, other than to say it was trying to take control of the territory from the military in a remote section of Jolo.