Military says Muslim rebels holding soldiers

ZAMBOANGA – The Philippine military said Wednesday that Muslim rebels were holding six soldiers following a major clash in the troubled south of country that left at least 13 other troops dead.

An independent ceasefire monitoring team had informed the army that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had taken the soldiers captive, Western Mindanao Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang told reporters.

“The information is not yet clear as to their condition, but the reports disclosed that the six soldiers who were among those reported missing are in the custody of the MILF group which they encountered,” Cabangbang said.

The fate of four other soldiers who went missing following Tuesday’s fighting remained unknown, while 12 troops were confirmed killed, he said.

The army special forces troops clashed with the rebels on the flashpoint southern island of Basilan, home to Al Qaeda linked militants as well as the more moderate MILF.

MILF spokesman Von al Haq told Agence France Presse Wednesday that five guerrillas were killed in the clashes, which he said occurred after the government troops strayed into rebel territory in violation of a ceasefire.

“We have yet to receive information from our forces on the ground that they are holding the soldiers,” he said when asked about the fate of the missing troops.

But if the rebels were holding the soldiers, the troops would be released, he said.

The 12,000-strong MILF has waged a rebellion since 1978 for an independent Islamic state in the southern third of the mainly Catholic Philippines.

They signed a truce in 2003 that paved the way for peace talks and the MILF says it is now willing to settle for limited autonomy rather than full independence.

But the peace process is at a stalemate and the ceasefire is frequently marred by clashes.

The decades-old rebellion has left about 150,000 people dead, with most of the deaths occurring in the 1970s when an all-out war raged.

Cabangbang said Tuesday’s clashes occurred as the soldiers were hunting down Abu Sayyaf militants.