2 killed, 4 injured in S Philippine clash

The death toll in the fighting between government troops and Muslim rebels on Saturday in the Philippine troubled south reached two, including a state soldier, a military official said Sunday.

Four Philippine troops were also injured when patrolling soldiers clashed with suspected members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) early Saturday morning in Panamao town of Sulu province, regional military spokesman Major David Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros said the soldiers were sent to the village of Patibulan when they encountered followers of commander Hebier Malik.

The MNLF is a former influential rebel group fighting for a self-rule Muslim state in southern Philippines. It signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996 in exchange of limited autonomy.

Malik joined forces with Al-Qaida affiliated Abu Sayyaf militants.

The group, blacklisted by Washington as a foreign terrorist organization, is considered a major security threat to the Philippines and the region engaged in kidnappings, bombings and even beheadings in the South over the past decade.

Source: Xinhua