Six killed in rebel attack on army

Six killed in rebel attack on army

PHILIPPINES: Moro rebels fired grenades at an army detachment in the southern Philippines, setting off a clash that killed six guerrillas and wounded four soldiers, the military said on Monday.

Eid Kabalu, a spokesman for the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said its forces were responsible for the attack in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao province on Sunday.

Regional army spokesman Maj. Julieto Ando said informants reported that six MILF rebels were killed. Soldiers also recovered containers of gasoline, which the guerrillas apparently had planned to use to raze the army position, he said.

The attack capped a week of fighting on southern Mindanao island in which 16 people were killed, most of them civilians.

The military blamed MILF rebels for the bloodshed, which came after government troops overran a guerrilla stronghold in North Cotabato province earlier this month. --AP