RP mayhem claims another 13 lives<\/p>\n
Agencies, Cotabato, Philippines<\/p>\n
Suspected Moro separatists attacked a truckload of soldiers on
\nroute to get food and gasoline on Tuesday, setting off a clash
\nthat killed 13 people, including civilians, a military official
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The fighting in Matanog town, in southern Maguindanao
\nprovince, followed a weeklong military offensive that led to the
\ncapture last week of a sprawling Moro Islamic Liberation Front
\n(MILF) stronghold 70 kilometers away, the officials said.<\/p>\n
The truck, carrying an undetermined number of soldiers and
\ncivilians, was negotiating a sharp curve on a hill when about 50
\nMILF guerrillas opened fire from both sides of the road with
\nrocket-propelled grenades and M-16 rifles, army Maj. Julieto Ando
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The soldiers managed to return fire in a clash that killed
\neight soldiers and five guerrillas. The fighting wounded 10
\nsoldiers and seven civilians. Some were on the truck, while
\nothers were aboard a nearby passenger jeep, Ando said.<\/p>\n
Police from a nearby camp rushed to the scene, prompting the
\nattackers to withdraw. Army reinforcements, backed by helicopter
\ngunships, pursued the guerrillas in Matanog, prompting thousands
\nof villagers to flee their homes, Ando said.<\/p>\n
Last week's military offensive killed 157 rebels, five
\nsoldiers and one government militiaman, according to the
\nmilitary. The MILF acknowledged 40 rebels dead and claimed to
\nhave killed more than 100 soldiers. Neither count could be
\nindependently confirmed.<\/p>\n
The fighting forced about 60,000 villagers from their homes
\nand endangered the prospects for resumption of peace talks
\nbetween the rebels and the government scheduled for this month in
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
The Moro rebels have been waging a separatist war in the
\nsouth, home of the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines'
\nMuslim minority, since the 1970s.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, U.S. troops are to join Filipino soldiers on Jolo
\nisland this year to observe the hunt for a Muslim group linked to
\nthe al-Qaeda terror network, Philippines officials said on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
Philippine and U.S. marines held a wargame in Ternate beach in
\nCavite province, south of Manila on Tuesday. Backed by mortar
\nfire, more troops drop by rope from a hovering helicopter.<\/p>",
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