Muslim Rebels Kill At Least 49 Police Commandos In The Philippines

Peace in conflict-affected areas in Southern Philippines remained hanging in the balance as a group of Muslim rebels clashed with members of an elite police force on Sunday, killing at least 49 police commandos and eight rebels.

It was the first major encounter between the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front and government forces since the two sides signed a peace treaty in March 2014.

An 11-hour gun battle broke out after the police commandos entered the remote town of Mamasapano in Maguindanao province, held by the MILF, early Sunday apparently without coordinating with the rebels as required in the 2012 peace treaty.

Hearings in the Philippine Senate on a new law that would create a new autonomous Muslim political entity in the Philippines was immediately suspended following the clash as lawmakers and other top officials condemned the use of force by the MILF.

The law, the Bangsamoro Basic Law, was envisioned to replace the current Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

According to unnamed sources from the security forces, the police operation in the area was meant to serve an arrest warrant for Malaysian bombmaker Zulkifli Bin Hir, also known as "Marwan," and Basit Usman, each with a bounty of $5 million on their heads, whose presence had been confirmed in the area.

"Marwan" was one of the most wanted leaders of the militant Jemaah Islamiyah group in Southeast Asia and is believed to be behind the bombing and terror attacks in Mindanao involving the al-Qaeda-linked and Jemaah Islamiyah-assisted Abu Sayyaf group.

Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the military is now verifying reports that Marwan was killed in the clash.

"Well, we have no confirmation but that was the report we got last night...According to reports they (PNP) were able to neutralize one of them, Marwan, although the other one escaped, the one named Basit Usman," Gazmin told reporters on Monday.

The MILF claimed on Monday that the attack it launched on a large group of PNP-SAF members in Maguindanao province was an act of "self-defense," as reported by GMA News.

Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF's top peace negotiator, claimed the police commandos fired the first shots, prompting his group to return fire.

Iqbal said MILF officials have yet to know how many of their fighters have been killed as they are still waiting for a report from the International Monitoring Team, which was tasked to investigate the incident.

Iqbal said MILF officials remain hopeful that the incident will not affect the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The 10,000-member MILF had agreed to end decades of rebellion in the Philippines in exchange for a law that would give the minority Muslims self-rule in several southern provinces.

"This is the first encounter between the MILF and (government forces) this year. Hopefully, this will be the last," Iqbal said.