Philippine troops have killed at least five suspected Abu Sayyaf militants and suffered three fatalities during a firefight in Bohol province, days after Western travel warnings about visiting the holiday island.
The incursion would be the first on a major Philippine tourist destination in recent years by the Abu Sayyaf, which has long engaged in kidnappings for ransom - often targeting foreigners in the lawless southern Philippines.
Five bodies have been recovered at the scene of the fighting, Philippine military spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said on ABS-CBN television in Manila.
"We have received a report that five of the enemies were killed and we have also recovered from them four high-powered firearms," military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said.
Related reading
Top Philippine drug war critic arrested, but defiant
"But sadly, three on the government side were also killed while two others were wounded."
At least one policeman was confirmed killed in the fight, national police spokesman Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said in a statement.
"Security forces reported that the armed group is well-armed with heavy-calibre weapons, but now cornered in an isolated section" of Bohol, Philippine military chief of staff General Eduardo Ano said in a statement.
It comes after the US and Australian embassies warned their citizens this week about possible kidnappings by "terrorist groups" in the central Philippines.
Bohol is a major tourist destination, where foreign tourists swim with whale sharks and marvel at tiny primates called tarsiers, go on cruises aboard boats on crystal-clear rivers and lounge at white-sand beaches.
The clash took place after the US and Canadian embassies in Manila warned citizens against travelling to Central Visayas, which includes Cebu and Bohol, where rebel groups might try to conduct kidnappings during Holy Week in the predominantly Catholic nation.
Cebu and Bohol are two of the country's most popular tourist destinations, far away from the island strongholds of Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic State-linked group known for extortion, piracy and kidnaps for ransom.
Military spokesman Padilla said the army had received information over the past few weeks about "a potential activity on the part of some lawless elements to disturb the peace" in the area.
"The clearing operations are ongoing and we are pouring in more forces to help and assist. We hope to finish this by the end of the day," the spokesman added.
The gunmen sailed into the Bohol town of Inabanga on Monday, going upriver toward a remote section of the island aboard three fast boats, Inabanga police officer Edwin Melicor told AFP by telephone.
"Residents told us the gunmen could have been Muslims because they were aboard boats that are used only in Mindanao," Melicor said, referring to a Muslim-populated southern area.
A clash broke out as police went to investigate early on Tuesday, Melicor added.
The Abu Sayyaf, also blamed for deadly bombings, has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State movement that holds large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Over the past year the Abu Sayyaf has been expanding its activities, boarding commercial and fishing vessels off their southern island stronghold of Jolo, near Malaysia, and abducting dozens of foreign crew members.
They beheaded a German tourist earlier this year and two Canadian tourists last year, all three of them having been seized at sea.
Watch: Dateline episode - Getting Away With Murder?
Share
