A guerrilla was killed and an 18-year-old girl wounded in two separate attacks by Muslim separatist rebels in the southern Philippines, military officials said Monday.
Members of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked a military patrol in Calanugas town, Lanao del Sur province on Sunday, leaving one guerrilla dead and two soldiers wounded, regional military spokeman Colonel Hilario Atendido said here.
Meanwhile, a bomb believed to be planted by MILF guerrillas exploded near the town hall of Isulan municipality in nearby Sulatan Kudarat province on Sunday, injuring a girl and partially destroying the government office.
The homemade explosive was made out of a mortar shell rigged to a timing device and similar to those used by the MILF in recent attacks, Atendido said.
The 15,000-strong MILF is waging a two-year war for a separate Islamic state in the main sothern island of Mindanao.
It pulled out of peace talks with Manila earlier this year after troops overran its main base and the government subsequently placed huge bounties on the heads of its leaders -- ZAMBOANGA (AFP)
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