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8 Civilians Killed in Military-Former Rebels Firefight
Eight civilians were killed in a firefight Thursday between government troops and members of former rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), in downtown of Marawi City in the southern Philippines.
The clash occurred when the military operatives in the morning raided several houses where armed elements of the MNLF were hiding and seized weapons, the Philippine News Agency reported.
Fighting erupted when former guerrillas attacked soldiers with rifles, triggering hostilities that left eight civilians dead.
There are also reports which said a still undetermined number of MNLF elements were believed killed in the clashes. The former rebels then raided a market and held hostage an undetermined number of civilians, including children and women.
Soldiers, backed by armored vehicles, surrounded the market and sporadic fighting was reported until late in the morning.
Military reports indicated the attackers were members of a " lost command" of the MNLF, the largest Muslim military group which has given up fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines and signed agreement with the government to establish a Muslim autonomous region.
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