Three militants killed in Philippines

Updated at: 0900 PST, Saturday, April 17, 2010
MANILA: Three Al-Qaeda-linked militants suspected of being behind deadly bomb attacks in the southern Philippines were killed in a gun battle with troops, the military said Saturday.

Two soldiers were also wounded in the firefight Friday when troops caught up with fleeing Abu Sayyaf extremists on Basilan Island, said Lieutenant General Ben Dolorfino.

The gunmen are believed to be part of the Abu Sayyaf group that set off two bombs and fired on civilians and security forces in Basilan's capital on Tuesday in an attack that left 15 people dead, Dolorfino said. Two rifles and a machinegun were recovered from the dead extremists, said Dolorfino, who is head of military forces in the southern Philippines.

Troops accompanied by sniffer dogs also discovered and safely detonated a bomb believed to have been left by the Abu Sayyaf in a creek on Basilan on Friday, officials said.