WORLD BRIEFING / PHILIPPINES
Government troops seized a Muslim separatist rebel camp after three days of fighting that left 30 guerrillas dead, a Philippine military spokesman said.
A rebel spokesman denied that any of its camps had been overrun.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front camp in Maguindanao province housed 20 bunkers that could accommodate about 200 fighters, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, spokesman for the army’s 6th Infantry Division.
Troops recovered ammunition and four explosive devices fashioned from 60-millimeter mortar rounds, he said.
Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu denied that a rebel camp had been seized, saying the area actually was a Muslim village. He also denied that 30 guerrillas were killed in the fighting, saying only nine rebels had been wounded.
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