By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (AA) - At least five Daesh-linked militants were killed in a series of clashes with military forces in southern Philippines early Tuesday, an army official said.
Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez, chief of the Armed Forces Philippines' Western Mindanao Command, said that the clashes between the operating troops of the Joint Task Force Sulu and the group of Abu Sayyaf group sub-leader Alhabsy Misaya in the Muslim-majority Sulu province in the troubled southern Mindanao also left seven militants and two soldiers injured.
The military continues to intensify the conduct of focused operations against the Abu Sayyaf members who are responsible for the series of kidnappings and atrocities in Sulu.
Misaya is under Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf top leader Radullan Sahiron, who is wanted by the US government with a $1 million bounty on his head since involvement in kidnapping of US tourists in 2001.
Authorities tagged him as one of Abu Sayyaf sub-commanders who have seized 25 Indonesians, at least four Malaysians in a series of kidnappings in the Sulu and Celebes seas last year.
The military also blamed Misaya for the beheading of one Malaysian hostage, after negotiations failed for his release.