ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines, March 2 (Xinhua) -- At least five militants have been killed as government army assaulted a Abu Sayyaf group which was believed to be directly behind the beheading of a German captive, a military official said on Thursday.
The military said 11 troopers were also injured during the operation late Wednesday in the jungle near Indanan Town, Sulu Province, in southern Philippines.
Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., commander of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said troops from the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion (SRB), assaulted the Abu Sayyaf militants it tracked down while fleeing in the jungle of Bud (mountain) Taran before sunset.
The mountain range of Bud Tara is near the area of Buanza village where intelligence reports indicated the Abu Sayyaf group beheaded last Sunday 70-year old German Juergen Kantner who was abducted in November last year.
The Abu Sayyaf bandits have demanded a 30 million pesos (598,000 U.S. dollars) ransom for Kantner's release. The kidnappers set 3 p.m. Sunday as deadline for the payments of the ransom. And he was killed after the ransom demand was not met.
During the fighting which lasted 10 minutes, 5 militants were killed and undetermined others were wounded, according to Galvez.
The militants retaliated firing rounds of grenade rifle to cover their retreat which resulted in the injuries of 10 troopers and another directly hit by bullet.
According to Galvez, ground forces indicated the group which army rangers encountered was among those militants responsible in the beheading of Kantner.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to launch an all-out offensive against the estimated 500 Abu Sayyaf bandits operating mostly in the hinterlands of southern Philippine provinces of Sulu and Basilan.
Duterte on Tuesday apologized to the German government, its people and the family of Kantner after the Philippine government failed to rescue him and save him from being beheaded by a Philippine bandit group.
"I would like to assure everybody that for as long as there is the violence being perpetrated, the Republic of the Philippines will continue with its military operations," he said.
