By Carlito Pablo, Inquirer News Service

FOUR suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf were killed and three government soldiers wounded in four encounters between the two forces over the weekend in Jolo.

At the same time, 48 suspected members of the rebel group were captured by Navy special forces while trying to flee Sulu by sea.

In the biggest incident on Saturday evening, three Abu Sayyaf members were killed and three soldiers were wounded in two simultaneous encounters between army scout rangers and the rebel group in Barangay Kagay, Indanan town.

Around 50 Abu Sayyaf gunmen in three groups engaged elements of the 11th and 14th Scout Ranger companies in the encounters.

Earlier that day, also in Barangay Kagay, a platoon of marines serving as blocking forces were shot at by Abu Sayyaf snipers.

The marines returned fire and the Abu Sayyaf retreated after 10 minutes of fighting.

On Sunday, one Abu Sayyaf gunman was killed in an encounter in Talipao town which lasted for 15 minutes.

The 48 suspected rebels trying to escape by boat were captured by the Navy’s special warfare group in a mangrove area on Patotol Bay, Luuk town, according to a report from the Armed Forces Southern Command to Camp Aguinaldo.

The Navy force, which was backed by four gunboats, recovered only one firearm—an M-16 rifle—from the rebels.

The suspects were taken to Jolo, site of the Armed Forces’ Joint Task Force Trident headquarters, for tactical interrogation and "proper disposition."

The military’s "combat scorecard" as of 8 a.m. yesterday showed that 179 Abu Sayyaf members have been killed and 173 captured, while 232 have surrendered, since the military began its offensive against the rebel group on Sept. 16. The rebels continue to hold two hostages out of the more than 40 captives they had held since April.

On the government side, eight soldiers have been killed in action and 39 others wounded in the same period, the military said.