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Rebels kill 20 Philippine troops | Rebels kill 20 Philippine troops |
(about 1 hour later) | |
At least 20 Philippine soldiers have been killed by suspected Islamic rebels on the southern island of Jolo. | At least 20 Philippine soldiers have been killed by suspected Islamic rebels on the southern island of Jolo. |
Ten of the victims died when gunmen ambushed a military convoy near the town of Maimbung. | Ten of the victims died when gunmen ambushed a military convoy near the town of Maimbung. |
Troops were sent to engage the rebels and during the battle which followed 10 more soldiers died. | |
The military blamed Abu Sayyaf - an Islamic militant group allegedly tied to al-Qaeda - and rogue elements in the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). | |
The MNLF, which signed a peace deal with the government in 1996, said it was behind Thursday's ambush. | |
It said the attack was retaliation for an army offensive a day earlier. | |
Hatimil Hassan, deputy chairman of the MNLF, said on local TV: "(The ambush) was not Abu Sayyaf. It was our troops. It was the military's fault. They started it all." | |
The government wants peace with the MNLF, although some of its members have refused to disarm. | |
But Manila has sworn to destroy Abu Sayyaf, which is blamed for the Philippines' worst terror attack - a ferry bombing in 2004 that killed more than 100 people. | |
Thousands of Philippine troops are based in Jolo, some 950km (600 miles) south of the Philippine capital, Manila. | Thousands of Philippine troops are based in Jolo, some 950km (600 miles) south of the Philippine capital, Manila. |
They have been fighting Islamic militants holed up in the island's mountainous terrain for several months. | They have been fighting Islamic militants holed up in the island's mountainous terrain for several months. |