Latest from the inner spiritual struggle in the Philippines.

From [1] VOA News:

Philippine military officials say 16 troops and about 30 Muslim extremists have been killed in clashes in the southern Philippines.

[...]

The fighting was one of the bloodiest clashes on Basilan since 14 marines were killed in an ambush last month.

The United States considers Abu Sayyaf a terrorist group with ties to the radical Jemaah Islamiyah organization. Philippine forces have been on the offensive against Abu Sayyaf since 2005, fighting primarily on Jolo.

The al-Qaida-linked group is blamed for several deadly attacks in the Philippines, including a 2004 bombing that gutted a ferry and killed 116 people.