The al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) continued to suffer major setbacks as seven more suspected members of the militant group were killed during a clash with government troops on a remote island in the town of Siasi, Sulu province before dawn Sunday.

Lt. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) commander, said the latest encounter occurred at about 3:47 a.m. at Laminusa Island in Siasi town.

Dolorfino said elements of the Marine Batallion Landing Team 6 (MBLT6) under Lt. Col. Robert Velasco were conducting an amphibious operation backed by gunboats on the island to confront the group of Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Benhur alias “Boy Tondo” when they encountered the bandits at the vicinity of Pookan village.

Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, Joint Task Force (JTF) Comet commander, said Abu Benhur has links with Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan,” a suspected Jemaah Islamiyah bomb expert who carries a $5 million bounty on his head offered by the US government.

Marwan is believed to be hiding in Mindanao and providing bomb expertise to the militant ASG.

According to Dolorfino, the encounter lasted about 10 minutes. However, at around 5 a.m., the government security forces clashed anew with the same group of bandits in the same place.

The bodies of the seven suspected ASG members, two of them female, were recovered after the firefight. It was not immediately established if Abu Benhur was among those killed.

Government forces likewise recovered 15 high-powered firearms and four rifle grenades.

Dolorfino said a member of the Marines was also wounded in action (WIA) but was immediately evacuated to their command ship, PS 31 where a trauma team with two doctors were on board.

As of press time, government troops are still at the encounter site for clearing operations in the presence of village officials. Processing of the slain bandits was also being conducted for proper turnover of the bodies to local officials in the area.

Last month, one of ASG’s notorious leaders, Albader Parad, was killed along with five other members of the bandit group in a clash with military forces in Maimbung also in Sulu.

Days before Parad’s death, a member of the ASG involved in the 2001 abduction of 20 people, including American missionary couple Gracia and Martin Burnham from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan was arrested at the North Harbor in Manila.

Authorities are now also verifying reports that another ranking ASG leader, Furuji Indama, was wounded in a clash with security forces in Basilan province.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, Navy spokesman, said with the latest accomplishment of the Navy fleet, the people of Sulu are now another step closer to achieving their aspiration for lasting peace in the province.

“This development is still in the pursuit of the Navy's quest for lasting peace in Mindanao for sustainable progress to come in,” he said.

“This is another testament to the potency of Fleet-Marine Operations of extending seapower to the shore through our Marines backed by ships from the Philippine Fleet both of the Navy,” Arevalo said.

“We have to sustain our conduct of military operations along with humanitarian development projects to neutralize the present crop of bandit and terrorist groups from recovering from their earlier setbacks,” said Arevalo.

He also reiterated that government forces will not stop until they get the last member of the bandit group to make sure there will be lasting peace in the region.