MANILA, Philippines, March 8 (UPI) -- In the fiercest fighting since last year, 11 soldiers and several guerrillas, including women, have died in two gun battles.
Marines killed seven suspected members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group during a dawn raid on Saisi, one of many small islands making up the Sulu Island archipelago province in southwestern Philippines.
Two women were among the guerrilla dead, a report by the television station ABC-CBN said.
Positive identification of the rebel dead may take several days, said military spokesman Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, commander of Joint Task Force Comet. He said the militants may have had close links with Zulkipli Bin Hir.
Bin Hir is also known as Marwan, a Malaysian and a high-ranking leader of the another terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah. He is believed to be training Abu Sayyaf operatives in bomb-making while in hiding on the Philippines' southern island of Mindanao where Islamic separatists have been fighting government troops for several decades.
The United States has offered a $5 million reward for the capture of Marwan, a U.S.-trained engineer accused by the Philippine of involvement in a number of deadly bombings in the country.
During the encounter on Saisi marines seized 15 weapons including five vintage Garand rifles, known in the United States as the semiautomatic M-1. Other weapons included M-14 and M-16 rifles, two Browning automatic rifles and four rifle grenades.
The Saisi island raid comes a day after 11 soldiers on reconnaissance died in an ambush by guerrillas on Mindoro island, around 55 miles south of Manila.
Military units are searching Mindoro for members of the communist New People's Army which reportedly is extorting money from local politicians in return for allowing them to campaign for elections set for May.
The soldiers died during a three-hour gun battle when they unexpectedly came across of fortified rebel camp in the jungle. Another seven soldiers were wounded as they "fought to the last bullet," said Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato, assistant chief of staff for civil military operations of the Philippine Army's 2nd Infantry Division.
Troops were in a disadvantageous position "compared to the well-placed terrorist encampment" which included well-built huts on stilts, he told media.
"The operation is part of our area security in line with the upcoming start of the campaign period for local officials," he said. "The security patrols and relocation of troops is being implemented to ensure freedom of movement of the candidates when the campaign starts."
Military operations have recovered many of the so-called permit-to-campaign cards issued by the guerrillas who have be known to punish non-payers. The higher up the office, the higher the price for a permit to campaign. It can be as much as $47,000 for a national position, such as a seat in Congress.
Media reported in the past week that rebels killed a former policeman running for local office in the May elections after he refused to pay for a permit.
The clashes come as more than 340 Filipino peacekeepers in Syria were awarded U.N. service medals for their efforts in the Golan Heights, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
The Philippines has around 1,060 military and police personnel deployed overseas, a 40 percent rise from 2009, making it the United Nation' 24th largest troop contributor, the government said. They serve in countries and disputed areas including Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Darfur, Haiti, Kashmir, Liberia, Sudan and Timor-Leste. They have also been engaged in Iraq, Burundi, Georgia, Kosovo and Nepal.
