By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
Eighteen soldiers were wounded early Friday in clashes with Abu Sayyaf militants in the town of Tipo-Tipo, Basilan Province, in the southern Philippines.
An army spokesman told reporters he had no news of injuries or casualties to Abu Sayyaf members.
“The operation is still ongoing and we're still awaiting further developments and progress reports," said Ramon Zagala.
He said soldiers were deployed to the area following information that Abu Sayyaf leader Furiji Indama was there and the encounter followed.
Town Mayor Ingatun Lukman Istarul said that the Scout Rangers from the Philippines Army's 18th Infantry Battalion had wounds to their legs and bodies.
They were airlifted by military choppers to Camp Navarro hospital, in Upper Calarian, Zamboanga City - a majority Christian city in the country's Muslim south.
Soldiers had been placed on high alert following reports that suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits had taken two female hostages seized from a resort in neighboring Malaysia to the area in Mindanao - the second largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines.
Malaysian authorities have confirmed that kidnappers have made telephone contact with the family of Gao Hua Yuan, the Chinese kidnap victim, and demanded US$11.2 million (about 500 million pesos) ransom for her release.
The huge ransom demand has drawn mixed reactions from different sectors.
Mindanao coordinator Warina Sushil Jukuy for the Alliance of Human Rights Advocates has voiced alarm over the around 50 kidnappings she said had occurred in Sulu province since February 17.
A message she posted on Twitter said the amount was “ridiculous.” “Are they out of their minds?” said another, chiding the kidnappers for being unreasonable.
The Abu Sayyaf, a small band of militants infamous for kidnappings for ransom, kidnapped the 29-year-old Chinese tourist along with a 40-year-old Filipino woman from Singamata Reef Resort in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on April 2.
The extremist group has carried out kidnappings for ransom in the region before.
In 2000, it snatched 21 European tourists and Malaysian and Filipino workers from Malaysia's Sipadan diving resort and brought them to Sulu - an autonomous island province located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Its capital is Jolo - an Abu Sayyaf stronghold.
The hostages were released after a ransom was paid.
Violence has erupted again in the Philippines’ south almost a month after a peace agreement was signed between the governments of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Military and police forces in the area have heightened security to thwart attacks or destabilization plots by Muslim militant groups opposed to the agreement.
Abu Sayyaf is fighting for an Islamic state in Mindanao. It has beheaded hostages in the past.
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