More than 30 police commandos were killed in a clash with Moro rebels in the southern province of Maguindanao in the biggest single-day combat loss for Philippine forces in many years, officials said.
The commandos, who are members of the police Special Action Force (SAF), had entered the far-flung village of Tukanalipao in Mamasapano town at dawn looking for a top terror suspect, but had a “misencounter” with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and other insurgents, Mayor Tahirudin Benzar Ampatuan of Mamasapano told The Associated Press by telephone.
Other insurgents in the area later joined in fighting the outnumbered police forces, the mayor said.
The Moro group signed a peace deal with the government last year.