Moro rebels attack troops violating truce: 21 killed
Thirteen Muslim separatist rebels and eight government soldiers were killed yesterday as Muslim guerrillas attacked an army outpost in the southern Philippines, violating a two-year-old ceasefire.
Three soldiers were also abducted and two are still missing as the guerrillas from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) virtually overran the outpost in the town of Mamasapano in the southern island of Mindanao, military officials said.
It was not clear how the clashes would affect ongoing peace talks scheduled to resume early this year.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Two soldiers were also wounded in the attack that began late Sunday when some 100 MILF rebels, armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, swooped on the outpost.
Colonel Franklin del Prado, spokesman of the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division in the area, said the slain soldiers all belonged to the battalion base attacked by the MILF.
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