(MENAFN- Arab Times) Philippine military officials vowed Sunday to "destroy" the Abu Sayyaf extremist group with more offensives after fierce fighting over the weekend left 18 soldiers dead in the government's largest single-day combat loss so far this year. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and top military officials flew to the south to meet most of the 53 soldiers who were wounded in fighting with Abu Sayyaf militants that raged for nearly 10 hours Saturday in the hinterlands on Basilan island. At least five militants, including a Moroccan fighter, were killed, the military said.
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