A Philippine offensive against the extremist Abu Sayyaf group has left 18 soldiers and five fighters dead in the worst violence in the troubled south this year, authorities said on Sunday. Saturday’s clashes on the island of Basilan came after Friday’s ransom deadline set by Abu Sayyaf, which had threatened to behead some of its foreign hostages. At least four soldiers were beheaded in the fighting, which involved about a hundred Islamist militants, regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan said. “This is part of the military operations against the Abu Sayyaf,” launched after a series of abductions of foreigners, he said. Another military spokesman said the soldiers were on their way to attack an Abu Sayyaf hideout when they were themselves attacked. “Our group was heading to attack them. On the way, they were ambushed,” Colonel Benedict Manquiquis, spokesman for the unit involved in the battle, told radio station DZRH. “The enemy had the high ground so no matter where our soldiers fled to seek cover, they could still be hit by the heavy firepower and improvised explosive devices of the members of the Abu Sayyaf group,” he said. Tan said 53 soldiers and about 20 Abu Sayyaf had been wounded in the violence but he did not give details. The clash came shortly after the release by Abu Sayyaf of a retired Italian priest on Friday. In March the Abu Sayyaf posted a video on its Facebook page in which a Norwegian and two Canadian hostages said they would be killed if a ransom was not paid. While the ransom amount was not specified, the militants in an earlier video demanded 1bn pesos ($21m) for each of the three foreigners. Since Friday’s ransom deadline passed there has been no word on the hostages’ fate. The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of militants known for kidnapping foreigners and demanding huge ransoms. Eighteen other foreign hostages are being held in the Philippines, most or all of them thought to be in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf. The group was established in the early 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network. It has been blamed for the country’s worst terror attacks, including a 2004 Manila Bay ferry bombing that claimed 116 lives. Its leaders have in recent years pledged allegiance to Islamic State and are based in the southern islands of Basilan and Jolo which both have large Muslim populations.
In the worst fighting that the southern Philippines has seen in 2016, 18 soldiers were killed along with five militants as government forces launched an offensive against Abu Sayyaf. The ruthless extremist group currently has a number of hostages, and had threatened to behead several of its foreign captives. The soldiers were en route to attack an Abu Sayyaf hideout when they were ambushed. More than 50 soldiers were injured. The militants demanded PHP1bn ($21m) for each of the three of its foreign hostages, payable by 8 April. There has been no word on the fate of the hostages since the deadline passed.