MANILA, Philippines ? Philippine troops searched Wednesday for 10 soldiers missing after fierce clashes with Muslim rebels left 19 combatants dead and an already-shaky cease-fire in jeopardy.
The daylong fighting on southern Basilan island erupted Tuesday between army special forces ? backed by bomber planes and artillery fire ? and members of the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front. It was some of the deadliest fighting since 2008, when peace talks bogged down and ignited widespread clashes that killed hundreds and displaced 750,000 people.
The rebels have waged a bloody insurgency for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region, the homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines. The conflict has killed more than 120,000 people in nearly four decades and stunted development of the resource-rich but impoverished south.
Since the clashes in 2008, a Malaysia-led peacekeeping contingent has kept watch to prevent further battles and keep the atmosphere ripe for peace talks.
Regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said Tuesday's fighting started when troops clashed with armed men believed led by a former Muslim rebel commander, Dan Laksaw Asnawi, who escaped from jail in 2009 and was accused of involvement in the beheadings of marines in 2007.
At least 13 soldiers were killed, 11 wounded and 10 others were missing, he said.
Rebel spokesman Von Al Haq said five rebels were slain. Police reported at least six rebels were killed.
Al Haq said government troops provoked the fighting by attacking the rebels in their Al-Barka stronghold in violation of the existing cease-fire. Army troops shelled the rebel stronghold after the initial clash, trapping villagers in the fighting, he said.
Cabangbang said troops were deployed to check reports by villagers that a group of gunmen known to be holding kidnap victims had strayed in areas close to their communities. He said the troops did not intrude on the guerrilla stronghold, and were about two miles (four kilometers) from it when they were fired upon by the Moro rebels, prompting the troops to fight back, he said.
Under cease-fire rules, government troops should notify the Moro rebels first if they want to venture into guerrilla strongholds in search of criminals to prevent accidental clashes.
Cabangbang said Wednesday that the clashes had stopped and the military had asked a joint government-rebel cease-fire committee to allow troops to search for the missing soldiers in the Moro rebels' Al-Barka stronghold.
Al-Haq, however, said rebels from his group have reported they are not holding any captives. Several army soldiers apparently fled during the clash into nearby communities, he said.
"Our men have been ordered not to advance or attack unless they come under attack," Al Haq said. "Hopefully we can diffuse this with the other side."
Malaysian-led peacekeepers were trying to pacify both sides, Al Haq said.
It was not immediately clear if al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants, known for beheading soldiers, got involved in Tuesday's clashes. The militants are active in Basilan, a predominantly Muslim island about 550 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, and some are relatives of the Moro rebels.
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