ZAMBOANGA CITY: Five Abu Sayyaf rebels were killed and at least 11 soldiers were wounded in a brief but fierce firefight that erupted in Sulu, where security forces are battling the Islamic State-affiliate group blamed for the grisly murder of a kidnapped German yachter, officials said on Thursday.

Army Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, spokesperson for the Western Mindanao Command, said fighting broke out on Wednesday in the remote mountain village of Bud Taran in Indanan town where troops – searching for other kidnapped victims – caught up with a band of rebels and engaged them for 10 minutes.

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