Philippine troops fought Muslim guerrillas on a remote island today, but US special forces on exercises nearby were not involved, a senior military officer said.
The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas ambushed a Philippine military squad early in the morning on the small island of Tingulan, off the island of Basilan, said Col Roland Detabali, operations chief for the Philippine military's southern command.
Two Philippine soldiers were wounded in the attack; the guerrillas suffered a number of casualties.
The soldiers called in air support, and two MG-520 attack helicopters attacked rebel positions.
Six US special forces men were at a marine camp in the town of Maluso, about four miles from the scene of the fighting, Col Detabali said.
US soldiers started moving to Basilan, 560 miles south of the capital Manila, on Sunday for exercises with local soldiers aimed at wiping out the Abu Sayyaf, which Washington has linked to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.
The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas say they are fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the Roman Catholic nation but appear to be focusing on kidnappings and random bombings.
They have been holding an American couple and a local nurse hostage for almost nine months on Basilan.