ZAMBOANGA, Philippines – Philippine soldiers killed four more militants as they pressed their offensive against the Abu Sayyaf after suffering heavy losses in weekend clashes in the troubled south, authorities said Monday.

Troops killed the four on the strife-torn island of Basilan on Sunday, a day after the guerrillas killed 18 soldiers in the worst fighting so far this year, regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan said.

“It is continuous. There will be no let-up in the operations,” Tan told reporters, adding that the military was determined to get Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon.

Hapilon is one of Abu Sayyaf’s most senior leaders. The United States has placed a reward of five million dollars on his head for his role in the kidnapping of three Americans in 2001, two of whom later died.

Nine Abu Sayyaf fighters were also killed in Saturday’s battle, including Moroccan national Mohammad Khattab, Tan told reporters, bringing the group’s total losses to 13.

Tan said Khattab was an instructor in bomb-making who was trying to unify the various outlaw groups in the south and establish links with “international” groups.

Italian hostage released by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines

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The Star/ANN, AFP

“We pre-empted the possibility of bombing attacks. He can no longer teach his terroristic tradecraft,” he said, but played down fears the Moroccan could have been linked to the Islamic State group.

In Manila, the defence secretary and military chief of staff briefed President Benigno Aquino on the offensive and assured him that “in accordance with his instructions, pursuit operations are still being conducted and that the troops are fully equipped and adequately supported,” a presidential spokesman said.

The Abu Sayyaf, a small group of militants notorious for kidnapping foreigners and demanding huge ransoms, was established in the early 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network.

Based in the southern islands of Basilan and Jolo, it has been blamed for the country’s worst terror attacks, including a 2004 Manila Bay ferry bombing that claimed 116 lives.

Its leaders have in recent years pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group that controls swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The group has stepped up its activity in recent weeks, abducting Indonesian and Malaysian seamen travelling near the Philippines’ maritime borders.

BANGKOK – A Thai opposition leader warned the ruling junta on Monday that his followers would reject in an August vote a military-drafted constitution, which critics say would enshrine the generals’ domination of politics.

The military seized power in May 2014, overthrowing an elected government, saying it needed to steer the country out of a decade of fractious and at times violent politics.

It has promised to hold a general election in 2017, but under a constitution that critics say will hobble democracy and preserve the power of the military-dominated establishment at the expense of politicians.

Jatuporn Prompan, leader of the “red shirt” movement loyal to ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said the military-backed constitution would damage the country and he would urge his activists to vote ‘no’ in the referendum. “The red shirts will show their strength again on August 7,”Jatuporn told Reuters in an interview.

Thai activists plan to defy junta ban with more marches

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AFP, Reuters

“If the constitution passes it will be devastating for both politics and the economy,” he said. “We need to overthrow this constitution.” The junta discarded the previous constitution and has defended the new draft saying it wants to promote stability and good government, not prolong its power.

Critics say they will not accept the constitution if the military retains control behind the scenes, pointing to clauses in the draft such as provision for an unelected upper house Senate.

“If the military government wants to stay in power longer it should just say so,” said Jatuporn. “But it should not hand back only a bit of power.” The prime minister of the military government, Prayuth Chan-ocha, apparently mindful of investor concern about prolonged political deadlock if the charter is rejected, has said an election will be held in 2017 no matter what.

The junta has kept a firm lid on freedom of speech since the coup and has barred gatherings of a political nature and leaders of the “red shirt” movement have been largely keeping quiet.

Thaksin’s old foe, the pro-establishment Democrat Party, Thailand’s oldest political party, is also urging people to oppose the draft charter too, saying it would stifle democracy.