Philippine troops kill 40 rebels as new government goes after Abu Sayyaf

MANILA, July 11 (Reuters) - Filipino troops have killed
about 40 Abu Sayyaf rebels in offensives on southern islands
over the past week, the military said on Monday, as a new
government intensifies operations to wipe out one of Asia's most
formidable kidnap gangs.
Battles on Basilan and Sulu islands since Wednesday killed
one soldier and also wounded some two-dozen members of the al
Qaeda-linked Islamist group, which gained in notoriety over the
past few months with its beheading of two Canadian hostages.
"A heavy firefight was still ongoing involving armoured
vehicles, artillery fire and close-air support," Filemon Tan,
spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, told journalists,
citing intelligence reports received late on Sunday.
Abu Sayyaf, whose name translates as "Bearer of the Sword",
has dogged successive Philippine governments, entrenching its
network with vast sums of ransom money in what has become one of
Asia's most lucrative kidnap rackets.
The rebels are holding at least 14 hostages - one Dutch, one
Norwegian, five Filipinos and seven Indonesians.
Three Indonesians were abducted from a tugboat on Sunday,
although it was not immediately clear if Abu Sayyaf rebels were
responsible.
Security experts say the rebels are motivated less by
Islamist ideology and more by the tens of millions of dollars
from kidnappings. They use the money to finance the purchase of
automatic weapons, grenade launchers, fast boats and high-tech
navigational equipment.
The government of President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office
on June 30, is under renewed pressure to tackle Abu Sayyaf
following the decapitation of the two Canadians and the
kidnapping of Indonesian sailors.
His new defence minister recently said killing off Abu
Sayyaf was his top security priority, taking precedence over the
disputed South China Sea in terms of budget allocation.
by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)