Two armed men were killed while two others were captured following a firefight with operating Marine soldiers in southern Philippine island of Sulu Monday morning, the military said.

The troops were on the hunt for Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leaders in the area when they were fired on by some gunmen in the vicinity of Andanan village, Luuk town at around 5:30 a.m., said Marine spokesman Ariel Caculitan.

"They were fired upon by an undetermined number of armed men while proceeding to their target. This deployment is part of our operations against the HVTs (high-value targets) from the Abu Sayyaf," Caculitan said.

After the 30-minute firefight, troops captured two of the attackers, one of them wounded. Recovered were the bodies of the two fatalities and an M14 rifle.

Caculitan said operating troops have yet to ascertain whether the slain armed men, as well as those captured, were members of the Abu Sayyaf.

Since last August, the Philippine military has poured in thousands of troops in Sulu to hunt down Islamic militants belonging to the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and the JI.

Source: Xinhua