(UPDATE) Death toll from Sulu ambush rises to 23

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The death toll from the ambush by terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu yesterday has risen to 23, the military said today.

"As of 11 a.m., the death toll in Sulu is already 23... The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has evacuated the wounded from the encounter site," said AFP spokesperson Ramon Zagala on Tuesday.

The ambush happened on July 28 when the Abu Sayyaf gunmen, estimated at around 50, waylaid 40 civilians who were on board two vehicles on the way to Lumapid village in Talipao town of Sulu for Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), founded in the early 1990s by Islamic extremists, is a violent Muslim terrorist group operating in the southern Philippines.