(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-01 18:31

MANILA -- Filipino government troops killed 15 Muslim rebels and captured an encampment of the rebels in an intense fighting Friday on the island province of Sulu in southern Philippines, reported the official Philippines News Agency Saturday.

Five government troops were also killed in the fighting, while 20 other rebels, including a rebel leader and three of his lieutenants, were also wounded, said the report.

The report quoted Western Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as saying troops have seized a rebel camp in the town of Kalingalang Caluang in Sulu, which was occupied by AbuSayyaf rebels and "rogue" members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) led by Haber Malik, who was reportedly wounded in the fighting.

The MNLF signed a fragile truce with government in 1996 under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic Conference, but sporadic fighting between its members and government soldiers take place from time to time in Mindanao.

Troops also recovered four bodies of the slain rebels, two high-powered firearms and hundreds of ammunition, said the report.

The bodies of the dead government soldiers and the wounded soldiers, all of them from the Marines, were airlifted to Zamboanga City, a major military base facing Sulu some 800 kilometers south of Manila.

Pursuit operations were continuing against fleeing Abu Sayyafs and rouge MNLF members, while Naval Forces Western Mindanao have sealed off the coastal areas to prevent their escape, said the report.