10 bandits killed, 8 wounded in Sultan Kudarat clash —military

ISULAN, Sultan Kudarat—Ten people were killed and eight others were hurt in a fierce gun battle between security forces and lawless elements in the town's Barangay Bual early morning on Thursday.

"The bandits were occupying fortified positions with machine gun emplacements and running trenches. They were ready to confront the security forces," Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, 33rd Infantry Battalion commander, said in a press statement obtained Friday afternoon by GMA News Online.

Ten bandits were killed and eight were hurt in the confrontation, including a soldier, the statement said.

Government troops from the 33rd IB and members of the local police were serving a search warrant when heavily-armed men opened fire, sparking the deadly skirmish in Sitio Mantisao that began at about 6:30 a.m.

The troops captured a suspected bandit named Abdul Magid Logioman aka "Black Moro" and seized from him an M653 Rifle.

Sgt. David Desidario of the Division Recon Company was injured, but doctors at a local hospital had declared he was out of danger. —Ferdinandh Cabrera/LBG, GMA News