17 Muslim rebels killed in clashes with gov't troops: military

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - At least 17 members of the Muslim rebel group of Bangamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have been reportedly killed in the clashes with government troops in Mindanao since yesterday, Colonel Dickson Hermoso, spokesman for the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division, said today.

Hermoso, however, said only two enemy bodies were recovered by the Philippine military. According to him, the two died in fighting at the boundary of Sharif Saidona Mustapha town in Maguindanao Province and Pikit town in North Cotabato Province on Monday morning.

Hermoso said the additional 15 fatalities from the BIFF, the armed wing of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) which broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2010, were based on intelligence information, and accounts of troops on the ground and barangay officials.

"We are ascertaining, gathering evidence on the 15 (additional deaths). So far we have two (confirmed fatalities)," said Hermoso, adding it was possible that the remains of the 15 were retrieved by their comrades.

He said the 15 reportedly died in Monday's fighting and last Sunday's clashes in Sultan sa Barongis town in Maguindanao. "This is the result of the series of encounters," he said.

The official said no one was reported killed or injured on the government side.

Sporadic clashes between BIFF and Philippine government troops have happened in southern Philippines after the government and MILF sign the last annex on normalization in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday.

Hermoso said the fighting had subsided as of 3 p.m. today, but he did not discount the possibility of the hostilities resuming.