Army kills rebels in the Philippines

Army kills rebels in the Philippines

COTABATO, Philippines (AFP): At least six rebels were killed
in fierce fighting on Tuesday as 2,000 soldiers launched a ground
assault on a southern separatist training base, Philippine
officials said.

A guerrilla spokesman said 10 soldiers were killed, which the
military denied while conceding two of its men were killed in an
ambush on Monday.

Security forces captured a rebel outpost overnight on the
perimeter defense of Camp Omar, a guerrilla base of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), ahead of Tuesday's offensive,
division commander Major General Rolando Bautista said.

The attack on Camp Omar -- involving infantrymen supported by
mortar and howitzer fire -- came a day after President Joseph
Estrada vowed to "give them (MILF) war" following military claims
of rebel harassment.