14 die as Filipino soldiers, rebels clash

MANILA: Four soldiers and 10 Muslim rebels were killed in an offensive against a group of guerrillas opposed to a peace deal in the southern Philippines, the military said yesterday.

Troops launched the attack against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (Biff) group on Saturday in two towns in the province of Maguindanao, 960km south of Manila, according to army spokeswoman Captain Joann Petinglay.

Petinglay said four soldiers and 10 Biff members were killed in two days of fighting around the towns of Datu Piang, Mamasapano and Shariff Saydona.

“We are still pursuing two units of the Biff, one with about 100 men and the other with about 50,” she said.

“They know the terrain very well, but we continue to hunt them.”

Biff is a faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf), which signed a peace agreement with the government last year.

The deal calls for the creation of a new autonomous Muslim entity in the southern region of Mindanao by next year.

The military launched the offensive more than a month after 44 police officers were killed in a clash with Biff members and Milf rebels during an anti-terrorism operation in Mamasapano town in January.

A suspected Malaysian terrorist, Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, was believed to have been killed in the operation.

His death was confirmed by preliminary DNA tests conducted by the FBI, but final tests were pending.

Washington offered a $5 million reward for the capture of Zulkifli, a US-trained engineer, who was a key operative and bomber of the regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah. – Sapa-dpa

Military launched the offensive after 44 police were killed in a terrorist clash