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12 Muslim separatist rebels killed in Philippines fighting
Cotabato (Philippines), Apr 14: At least 12 Muslim separatist guerrillas have been killed and three soldiers wounded in fresh fighting in the southern Philippines, the military said today.
Cotabato (Philippines), Apr 14: At least 12 Muslim separatist guerrillas have been killed and three soldiers wounded in fresh fighting in the southern Philippines, the military said today.
About 50 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked the main headquarters of the army's 75th infantry battalion near the town of Tugaig with rocket propelled grenades, injuring three soldiers and triggering a gunbattle that lasted for several hours, Major General Generoso Senga said.
Troops fired rounds of mortar into enemy positions, forcing the rebels to flee and leaving behind the bodies of 12 guerrillas, Senga said. The battalion headquarters sits inside a sprawling compound bordering several towns in the main southern island of Mindanao that had once been the MILF's main command post in the south, he said.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu admitted the rebels initiated the attack as part of its plan to recover rebel-held areas that had fallen to military hands. He denied however that the rebels suffered any casualties. Peace talks between the government and the 12,500-strong MILF have been stalled after government launched a major offensive this year that left an estimated 200, mostly MILF fighters, killed on both sides.
Meanwhile, police said they recovered and safely defused a powerful bomb planted at a busy market in the town of Pigcuayan also in Mindanao today. Bureau Report
Troops fired rounds of mortar into enemy positions, forcing the rebels to flee and leaving behind the bodies of 12 guerrillas, Senga said. The battalion headquarters sits inside a sprawling compound bordering several towns in the main southern island of Mindanao that had once been the MILF's main command post in the south, he said.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu admitted the rebels initiated the attack as part of its plan to recover rebel-held areas that had fallen to military hands. He denied however that the rebels suffered any casualties. Peace talks between the government and the 12,500-strong MILF have been stalled after government launched a major offensive this year that left an estimated 200, mostly MILF fighters, killed on both sides.
Meanwhile, police said they recovered and safely defused a powerful bomb planted at a busy market in the town of Pigcuayan also in Mindanao today. Bureau Report