27 rebels killed, 60 wounded in days of gun battle in S. Philippines

At least 27 Islamic militants have been killed and more than 60 others wounded as they engaged in days of gun battle against government security forces in the southern province of Zamboanga Sibugay, police said Friday. Senior Superintendent Ruben Cariaga, provincial police commander, said troops saw 27 bodies of rebels as they captured their camp Thursday on the outskirt township of Payao in the province. "There was bunker. It only has one entrance and exit. Government forces also recovered high powered weapons left behind by guerrillas," said Cariaga. Soldiers have resumed the operation against renegade leader Waning Abdulsalam of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) along with his 100 armed followers, who was wanted for a series of kidnapping and extortion. "Because of the bloodstain everywhere, it's an indication they suffered several casualties," Cariaga said. President Benigno Aquino III refused to heed the calls to declare an all-out war against the MILF as he maintained to continue with the peace process with the Muslim rebels. But Aquino vowed all-out justice for the slain soldiers and policemen by conducting selective offensive operations against those who alleged perpetrated the attacks. The MILF has been fighting government troops for decades to establish a self-rule Muslim sub-state in the south of the predominantly Catholic country. Peace talks between the government and the MILF stalled in August 2008 following the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain. A final peace deal with the government will touch the issues of autonomy and the civil settlement of the rebel group's 11,800-strong guerrilla fighters.