MANILA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Seven militants have been killed and 24 others wounded, including 17 soldiers, in a heavy fighting in the southern Philippines, a military report said on Saturday.

The military said troops clashed with some 100 Abu Sayyaf militants around 1:30 p.m. on Friday in a remote village in Patikul town in Sulu province in the southern Philippines.

Among the "seriously wounded" was Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan who was allegedly wounded in the stomach and legs, the military said.

Seventeen soldiers also sustained shrapnel injuries, the military said, adding no soldier was killed in the encounter.

The military said the troops recovered an M16 assault rifle, one bandolier, several rounds of ammunition and a mobile phone.

Troops were sent to the area to pursue the fleeing terrorists, the military said.

Patikul is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines. The group is notorious for carrying out kidnappings, bombings and beheadings in western Mindanao, particularly in their lair in the island provinces of Basilan and Sulu.