53 killed as troops fight Abu Sayyaf.

Byline: Gilbert Felongco, Correspondent

Manila:AaAaAt least 53 combatants were killed and dozens were wounded after government troops clashed with the Abu Sayyaf on Wednesday, reports reaching Manila said.

A force of marines and army soldiers mounted an assault on an Abu Sayyaf stronghold around 3.45am in the village of Silangkum in Tipo-Tipo town Basikan province.

Some 50 Abu Sayyaf fighters believed to be led by Furiji Indaman figured in a two-hour firefight, said Lieutenant Colonel Arnulfo Burgos, spokesman of the army.

The clash left 23 government soldiers dead and 22 wounded.

At around 5.30am, a bigger group of Moro fighters were engaged by government soldiers in nearby Baguindan town resulting in a fierce gunbattle that lasted for seven hours.

The air force sent in helicopter gunships and light bombers for air support.

Government troopers are conducting follow-up operations in the area where 21 bodies were recovered out of the estimated 30-40 Abu Sayyaf members killed.

Military Western Command Chief, Marine Maj Gen Ben Dolorfino in an interview aired by the QTV station, said the navy had set up a naval blockade of the area to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from reaching reinforcements.

Dolorfino said the Abu Sayyaf camp in Silangkum serves as the "logistical support" base serving smaller encampments in Basilan and is adjacent to the camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the island.

A separate report published on the MILF's Luwaran website on the other hand, said the marines, after attacking the Abu Sayyaf camp "diverted its offensive against the MILF's 114th Base Command in Baguindan.

"The attack on the MILF forces by the Marines was launched without provocations," the MILF website said, quoting a "field report". "Firefight escalated to Sitio Bato Mapoteh and Sitio Maluha in Baguindan with the Marines heavily pounding the areas indiscriminately with artillery fires," it said.

The Luwaran said three non-combatants were killed in the artillery shelling. This claim could not be confirmed.

"MILF suffered nine martyrs and four were wounded. At one hand, the casualties on Marines were approximated at 50 men," the Luwaran report said.

The Luwaran said the MILF is poised to file a protest against the government before the ceasefire monitoring body watching over the truce.

Both sides had earlier directed their forces to suspend military operations as part of confidence-building measures for the resumption of the stalled peace negotiations.

Peace talks between the MILF and the government had been suspended since August 2008 after the Supreme Court ruled as "unconstitutional" an agreement entered into by the government and the Moro negotiators concerning so-called ancestral domain areas in Mindanao and Palawan. Analysts expected intensified operations against the Abu Sayyaf, but foresaw no decisive development in the conflict.

Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, navy commander on Basilan, said the Abu Sayyaf's loose structure meant an encounter on Basilan would not affect militants on nearby Jolo island. Rex Robles, a security analyst, said the rebels enjoyed the support of the local community.

-With inputs from Reuters

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