ZAMBOANGA CITY: Government troops, backed by helicopter gunships, assaulted an Abu Sayyaf stronghold on Saturday in Sulu where security forces are battling militants holding more than a dozen Filipino and foreign hostages, officials said.

Officials said army soldiers traded automatic gunfire with militants and engaged them in a running battle in the remote village of Bungkaong in Patikul town. Troops also seized an abandoned Abu Sayyaf encampment in the village.

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