At least 24 Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants were killed and 27 injured as a military operation against the group entered its fourth day in Philippines' Sulu province, officials said Saturday.
Combined military forces launched attacks on some 300 ASG members Wednesday morning in the mountainous areas of Pakikul town and have since continued the operations, Xinhua news agency reported.
The attacks also led to the deaths of two soldiers and injuries to 26.
The 400-strong ASG, founded in the early 1990s by Islamist extremists, is a Muslim militant group operating in southern Philippines.