MARAWI CITY, Philippines--The Moro Islamic Liberation Front said it was checking reports its troops were responsible for an ambush that killed seven government troops and wounded at least 11 others in Malundo town in Lanao del Sur Sunday morning.

But Eid Kabalu, civil military affairs chief of the MILF, expressed doubts their troops were involved, saying a "third party" might be behind the attack to sow the seeds of unrest in volatile Mindanao.

"We will check it first. It might be a handiwork of a third party to worsen the situation in Mindanao. But we have many forces based in Lanao del Sur area," Kabalu told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

Initial reports reaching Camp Aguinaldo said the attack happened at 8 a.m. The Camp Aguinaldo report counted seven killed (four Army personnel and three members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit [CAFGU]) and 11 wounded (eight Army personnel and four CAFGU members). Reports gathered by the Inquirer Mindanao Bureau from the military in Mindanao, however, had one more injured.

Col. Rey Ardo, commander of the Army's 103rd Brigade based here, said the militiamen and soldiers were part of the three-vehicle convoy of the 5th Infantry Battalion, which was on its way to the towns of Lumbayanage and Lumbatan to deliver salaries and allowances of militiamen.

Ardo said upon reaching Molundo, some 100 rebels fired at the government forces using 60 caliber machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades and other high-powered firearms.

The firing lasted for about 12 minutes, Ardo said.

After the ambush, Ardo said, the rebels fled and "merged" with the civilians in the villages of Buadepuso and Maguing areas.

"We know that we are still on ceasefire, but we are going to take punitive actions against this group," Ardo said.

Ardo refused to identify the casualties, only saying that most of them were militiamen.

Senior Supt. Paniares Adap, Lanao del Sur police chief, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone that a convoy of army soldiers and militiamen were waylaid as they passed along the national highway at the border of Malundo and Baudiposo-Buntong towns.

"There's an ongoing operation right now to hunt down the attackers," Adap said.

Senior Supt. Danilo Bacas, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police spokesperson, in separate interview said on Sunday they were still uncertain of the identity of the rebel commander involved in the ambush.

But Bacas said they recorded only five dead and five wounded.

In Sultan Kudarat province, suspected MILF rebels on Saturday raided a remote village in Kalamansig town, killing two villagers and forcing the evacuation of about 400 families.

Town Mayor Rolando Garcia said the attackers, led by a certain Commander Boyet, landed Friday night in the coastal village of Sangay and stayed there overnight.

At the break of dawn, they roamed around the village and chanced upon an armed militiaman who was farming with his water buffalo, Garcia said.

The mayor said the farmer was shot at close range. Another farmer nearby was also shot dead.

Col. Julieto Ando, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, said land conflict was the root cause of peace and order problem in the village of Sangay, a two-hour boat ride from Kalamansig town center, about 80 kilometers south of Cotabato City.

The conflict area is a five-hour travel through rough terrain from Cotabato City and about eight hours travel by motorboat.

The village, facing the Moro gulf, is one of Kalamansig's highly productive agricultural villages.

Last June, the group of Commander Boyet of the MILF's 104th base command, raided the same village and killed three civilians.

"It was a case of land dispute involving settlers and Moro claimants," Ando told the Inquirer.

Garcia said some 400 families or about 2,000 individuals fled to the town center and were being housed at the town gymnasium, while others stayed with relatives.

According to the village chair Manar Macargas, the gunmen started shooting villagers as they woke up Saturday dawn to farm.

Upon learning of the murder of two civilians, residents hurriedly left, leaving behind their valuables and work animals, Garcia said.

Militiamen attempted to defend the village to no avail as the number of MILF guerillas overwhelmed them.

A civilian who fled to Kalamansig town proper said the rebels told them they came to claim the land owned by their forefathers.

Garcia said the group of Commander Boyet came from nearby Palembang town.

"They were so afraid that they hurriedly left on board several motorboats to nearby barangays en route to Kalamansig proper," he said.

"If it was a land dispute there are legal means to settle it and not with the barrel of the gun," Garcia said, adding that he asked for military support but to date no Army personnel had arrived.

He said the Sultan Kudarat police office sent a team to check on the reported occupation of MILF rebels.

"But as the group of Supt. Teng Tocao arrived, the rebels were gone," Garcia said in a phone interview. "They only found Muslim farmers who opted not to leave to ensure the safety of their properties."

Quoting a Moro village official, Garcia said the MILF immediately returned to Barangay Sangay after the team of Supt. Tocao, Sultan Kudarat police director, had left.

Ando said two groups are disputing ownership of 24 hectares of highly productive coconut and corn fields in Barangay Sangay.

The attacks in Lanao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat came a few days after joint operations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) drove away hundreds of fighters from North Cotabato.