Three rebel commanders killed in the Philippines

September 30th, 2009 Official: Mine kills US soldier in PhilippinesMANILA, Philippines — The Philippines military says one U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded in a landmine explosion in the country's insurgent-plagued south.

September 25th, 2009 MANILA - Ten communist rebels were killed Friday in two clashes with government troops in the eastern Philippines, a regional army spokesman said. Nine guerillas died in fighting in a remote village in Pilar town in Sorsogon province, 345 km southeast of Manila, Lieutenant Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said.

September 22nd, 2009 COTABATO - A rebel commander, who carried a $25-million bounty, was captured by the security forces in southern Philippines, the military said Wednesday. Camarudin Hadji Ali, commander of the banned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was captured during a raid Tuesday in Cotabato city.

September 21st, 2009 Philippine troops seize Abu Sayyaf militants' campMANILA, Philippines — Al-Qaida-linked militants ambushed a convoy of Marines returning to base Monday after raising the Philippine flag on a rebel camp they overran, killing eight troops and wounding nine others, officials said. Five militants were killed in the ensuing clash in southern Jolo island's Indanan township, said military spokesman Lt.

September 20th, 2009 Philippine troops clash with Abu Sayyaf militantsMANILA, Philippines — Attempts by government troops to arrest three militant leaders wanted by the Philippines and the United States on kidnapping and murder charges sparked clashes that left up to 17 rebels dead, officials said Monday. The fighting erupted Sunday when government forces cordoned off a village on Jolo island in the southern Philippines and tried to arrest the three Abu Sayyaf commanders.

September 19th, 2009 Philippine Muslim rebels warn of new fightingSULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines — The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group warned Saturday that fighting could break out again if efforts to revive peace talks fail, saying a new truce remains fragile. Months of deadly clashes in the south eased in July when the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front separately declared a halt to offensives to allow the Malaysian-brokered talks to resume and a large number of displaced villagers to return home.

July 23rd, 2009 Philippines halts offensives against Muslim rebelsMANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government ordered its military Thursday to stop offensives against Muslim separatist rebels in a bid to restart peace talks, a move welcomed by the guerrillas. Negotiations with the 11,000-member Moro Islamic Liberation Front broke down last year, when the government accused the rebels of launching attacks on Christian villages after the Supreme Court threw out a preliminary Muslim autonomy deal.

July 20th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Fourteen militants, including three rebel commanders, were killed in fighting with the security forces in northwest Pakistan, officials said Monday. In the past 24 hours to Monday evening, the security forces killed 14 terrorists, including three rebel commanders, in a search operation in the Swat and Malakand districts in northwest Pakistan, the Pakistan Army said in a statement.

July 2nd, 2009 Filipino rebels claim killing hundreds of troopsMANILA, Philippines — Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines said Thursday they have killed more than 500 government troops in 10 months of fighting since the collapse of peace talks, a claim the military dismissed as propaganda. The 11,500-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front also accused government forces of deliberately burning 2,000 houses, killing villagers suspecting of supporting the guerrillas, bombing a mosque and blocking food for displaced residents.

June 21st, 2009 Grenade blasts kill 1, wound 31 in PhilippinesMANILA, Philippines — Unidentified men hurled two grenades near a crowded town plaza where a beauty contest was being held in the southern Philippines, killing at least one person and wounding 31 others, police said Sunday. The attack happened late Saturday in Maasim, Sarangani province, about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of Manila, police chief Abraham Madrid said.

June 8th, 2009 COTABATO CITY - At least 11 Muslim rebels were killed in the latest clashes between government troops and guerrillas in the southern Philippines, a regional army spokesman said Monday. Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce said troops also seized two Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camps during Sunday's fighting in Guindulungan and Talayan towns in Maguindanao province, 960 km south of Manila.

June 6th, 2009 Philippine troops seize Muslim rebel camp, kill 30MANILA, Philippines — Government troops seized a Muslim separatist rebel camp Saturday following three days of fighting that left 30 guerrillas dead, a Philippine military spokesman said. A rebel spokesman denied any of its camps had been overrun.

April 27th, 2009 Report: Filipino radicals help Indonesia brethrenMANILA, Philippines — Muslim Filipino rebels have helped Indonesian terror suspects evade capture by giving them refuge and access to weapons and funds in the southern Philippines, a government report says. The information was gleaned from a recently arrested rebel who told government interrogators that Indonesian terror suspect Umar Patek has established ties with Filipino militants in the region.

April 13th, 2009 COTABATO CITY - Three government anti-drug agents were killed in an attack Monday in the southern Philippines, the military and police said. Three agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency were also wounded in the ambush in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province, 930 km south of Manila.

March 31st, 2009 MANILA - Seventeen people were killed when communist rebels attacked a military outpost in the southern Philippines Tuesday, an army spokesman said. An undetermined number of guerrillas swooped down on an army patrol base in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon province, 855 km south of Manila, according to Major Michele Anayron.