Seven Abu Sayyaf bandits have been killed in an encounter between the bandits and a special operations group of the 3rd Marine brigade in Sulu province, southwest Philippines, at dawn Saturday, said the Philippine military.

Colonel Juancho Sabban, the 3rd Marine brigade commander, said that the fighting is still going on between government forces and the rebels, which has also resulted in the deaths of two government soldiers.

The Abu Sayyaf bandits involved in the gunfight in Sitio ( hamlet) Lahi in Patikul, Sulu, are members of a faction led by Radulan Sahiron, said the Southern Command chief of staff Colonel Domingo Tutaan.

Sulu was the battlefield between government forces and Abu Sayyaf rebels allied with a breakaway group of the Moro National Liberation Front in February and March.

Source: Xinhua