Fourteen dead at the hands of the Abu Sayyaf jihadis in the Philippines, some of them beheaded: Militants kill 14 Philippine marines, behead 10: military.

BASILAN, Philippines (AFP) - Islamic militants killed 14 Philippine marines searching for a kidnapped Italian priest during a major gunbattle, and later beheaded 10 of them, the military said Wednesday.

The troops were ambushed on southern Basilan island by a joint force from the Philippines’ main Islamic rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, a marine spokesman said.

Lieutenant Colonel Ariel Caculitan said 14 marines were killed in the eight-hour clash, increasing an earlier death toll after more bodies were recovered. Ten had been discovered beheaded, he said in Manila.