MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine military spokesman says at least five soldiers and three Muslim militants were killed in a fierce battle as troops pressed a new offensive in the south following a deadly church bombing blamed on Islamic State group-linked gunmen.

Regional military spokesman Col. Gerry Besana says another five soldiers and 15 militants were wounded in nearly two hours of fighting Saturday between army troops and about 150 Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the jungles off Patikul town in Sulu province.

Besana says the militants were led by Abu Sayyaf commander Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who has been suspected of plotting the bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Sulu capital of Jolo on Sunday that killed 22 people and wounded more than 100 others. Sawadjaan apparently escaped. </s> Five Filipino soldiers and three Abu Sayyaf militants were killed in the southern Philippines during an operation against the alleged perpetrators of last week's attack on a cathedral in Jolo that killed at least 20 people, the army said on Sunday.

Another 18 soldiers were wounded during the one hour, 50 minute-long gun battle that began at around 11:30 am on Saturday in Patikul in Sulu province, spokesperson Col. Gerry Besana said according to the official Philippine News Agency. </s> MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military says three soldiers have been killed and 17 wounded in nearly two hours of fighting against about 150 Muslim militants in the south.

Regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan says Abu Sayyaf gunmen withdrew after the fierce clash on Saturday in the mountains of Patikul town in Sulu province, and are being pursued by government forces. He says an unspecified number of militants were either wounded or killed.

Tan said Sunday the militants were led by Radulan Sahiron, a one-armed commander long wanted by the U.S. and Philippine governments for his alleged role in kidnappings for ransom and other acts.

Malaysian forces killed three Abu Sayyaf gunmen and captured two others in a failed kidnapping attempt in Malaysia's Sabah state near the southern Philippines on Thursday. </s> Five Philippines soldiers were killed in fierce fighting with Islamic militants in the south of the country, as they tried in vain to hunt down the suspected perpetrator of last Sunday’s double bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral.

An army spokesman said that five soldiers were killed on Jolo island by members of Abu Sayyaf, a notorious group of hostage takers who are believed to be behind the bombing of Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount in which 22 worshippers and soldiers died.

The army claims that it killed three militants during close to two hours of fighting on Saturday in jungle on the outskirts of the town of Patikul. It admitted, however, that none of their bodies have been recovered. Eighteen soldiers were wounded. </s> MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine troops killed three suspected Abu Sayyaf militants and suffered five fatalities during a firefight on a remote southern island, the military said on Saturday.

The clash with more than 100 members of the Abu Sayyaf group broke out in the town of Patikul in the Sulu province at 11:30 a.m. as troops pursued those behind a church attack on Sunday, Colonel Gerry Besana, spokesman for the military’s Western Mindanao Command said.

The church bombing in Sulu, which killed 22 people and wounded more than 100 including civilians and soldiers, was a suicide attack carried out by an Indonesian couple, with help of the Abu Sayyaf group, Interior Minister Eduardo Año said on Friday.

Abu Sayyaf is a militant organization notorious for kidnappings and extremist factions and has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Sulu province, in the country’s Mindanao region, is a known stronghold of the group.

The encounter in Patikul lasted nearly two hours, Besana said, with five soldiers and 15 militants also wounded.

Martial law has been in place in Mindanao since domestic and foreign fighters dressed in black outfits overran Marawi City in 2017 and clung on through five months of air strikes and street battles reminiscent of scenes in Syria and Iraq. </s> Ten soldiers have been killed by a government air strike in the embattled city of Marawi in the Philippines.

Eight soldiers were also wounded in the "friendly fire" incident on Wednesday, said defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana, expressing remorse.

Over the last week militants allied to the so-called Islamic State have engaged in street battles with the army leaving more than 100 people dead.

It was sparked by the attempted capture of a top militant leader by the army.

"Yesterday we had a tragedy that involved our troops. A group of our military, Army men were hit by our own airstrike. We lost men, 10 killed and 8 wounded," Mr Lorenzana told reporters.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on southern Mindanao island last week where Marawi city is located.

The Philippines military has since been using armed forces and helicopter airstrikes to try and drive the militants out of the city. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption The strike was aimed at Islamist militants but hit Philippine soldiers

Ten soldiers have been killed in a government air strike in the embattled city of Marawi in the Philippines.

Eight soldiers were also wounded in the "friendly fire" incident on Wednesday, said defence secretary Delfin Lorenzana, expressing remorse.

Over the last week militants allied to the so-called Islamic State have engaged in street battles with the army leaving more than 100 people dead.

It was sparked by the attempted capture of a top militant leader by the army.

"Yesterday we had a tragedy that involved our troops. A group of our military, army men, were hit by our own airstrike. We lost men, 10 killed and 8 wounded," Mr Lorenzana told reporters.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on southern Mindanao island, where Marawi City is located, last week.

Security forces launched a raid to arrest Isnilon Hapilon - a Filipino militant on the US's list of most-wanted terror suspects.

Authorities said dozens of fighters fought back to protect him, and then attacked parts of the city with a population of 200,000, taking hostages.

The Philippines military has since been using armed forces and helicopter airstrikes to try and drive the militants out.

Most of the civilians have left Marawi, while about 2,000 remain trapped.

Defence Minister Lorenzana told reporters on Thursday that among the militants that have been killed there were fighters from at least five other nationalities including Saudi, Yemeni and Chechen, according to Reuters. </s> Three Filipino soldiers were killed and 17 others wounded in nearly two hours of fighting with about 150 Muslim militants in the south, the military said Sunday.

The Abu Sayyaf gunmen withdrew after the fierce clash on Saturday in the mountains of Patikul town in Sulu province, and are being pursued by government forces, said regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan.

An unspecified number of militants were either wounded or killed in the latest flare-up in a monthslong offensive ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte. Tan said the troops were backed by assault aircraft and artillery fire.

The militants were led by Radulan Sahiron, a one-armed commander long wanted by the U.S. and Philippine governments for his alleged role in kidnappings for ransom and other acts. The Abu Sayyaf, an offshoot of a decadeslong Muslim rebellion in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation's south, have survived numerous military offensives, partly thanks to money earned from kidnappings.

In neighboring Malaysia, security forces killed three Abu Sayyaf gunmen and captured two others in a failed kidnapping attempt in Malaysia's Sabah state near the southern Philippines on Thursday. Two other militants were missing after their speedboat was hit by gunfire and sank.

Among those killed was Abraham Hamid, an Abu Sayyaf militant who, the Philippine military said, acted as a spotter in the kidnappings of two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Filipina in the southern Philippines last year. The two Canadians were beheaded and the other two hostages were freed reportedly in exchange for ransom.

Duterte and his Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts have struggled to deal with a wave of attacks by the Abu Sayyaf and allied gunmen who target tugboats and cargo ships in the busy sea waterway. The ransom kidnappings of Malaysian and Indonesian crewmen have continued despite heightened coastal and border security.

Duterte recently said he had agreed to let Malaysian and Indonesian forces cross the sea border while pursuing militants and their victims. More controversially, he said it was OK for the Malaysian and Indonesian forces to bomb the militants along with their captives to ensure the kidnappers would be eradicated. </s> Manila: Eleven Philippine soldiers were killed and seven others injured in a "friendly fire" incident in the city of Marawi, defence officials said on Thursday.

Brigadier General Restituto Padilla told the media here that the soldiers were killed and wounded in airstrikes aimed at Islamist militants on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"One of our SF-260 aircraft was conducting an airstrike (when) the last ordnance round it (fired) went wayward for an unknown reason and accidentally hit our ground forces," Padilla said.

"This is a case of friendly fire. It was an accident."

"Maybe the coordination was not properly done so we hit our own people. We don't know yet what exactly happened," he added.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the military is sending more troops to Marawi to fight the remaining 50 to 100 extremists still holed up in the embattled city.

The ongoing clashes have so far killed over 90 militants, including at least eight foreign fighters, 19 civilians and 36 security personnel.

On May 23, heavily-armed militants attacked Marawi -- which has a population of about 200,000 people -- when the military was searching for an Abu Sayyaf leader hidden in the city.
Five soldiers and three militants die in an attack that also injured several others in Patikul, Sulu, in The Philippines.