At least 21 rebels have been killed following fierce fighting between two rival groups in the southern Philippine island of Sulu, according to the police and military.
A Philippine police spokesman said on Monday that 13 members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) were killed, while eight rebels were confirmed dead from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Antonio Freyra, Sulu provincial police chief, told the local media that the ASG had beheaded four of the MNLF rebels in the town of Patikul.