The Philippine military said its troops killed at least 10 rebels suspected to be linked to the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden in separate clashes today on two southern islands.
A military spokesman said in a radio interview soldiers killed seven members of the Abu Sayyaf group after a 20-minute firefight in a village in Patikul town on Jolo island.
He said soldiers encountered 30 members of the Abu Sayyaf group in Patikul early today. The group claims to be fighting for a separate Islamic state in this largely Catholic country but pursues kidnapping as its main activity.
No casualties on the government side were reported.
The fresh fighting between troops and Muslim rebels occurred as US forces in the country prepare to go to Basilan island, a lair of the Abu Sayyaf, to train Filipino troops.
This represents the most significant expansion of the United States' campaign against terror after Afghanistan.
The US government has linked the Abu Sayyaf to the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11th terrorist attacks.
The Abu Sayyaf group has been holding hostage for more than eight months a US missionary couple and a Filipina nurse.
In a separate encounter in Sibago island in Basilan province, Southern Command spokesman Colonel Danilo Servando said three people were killed by government troops.
Col Servando said the military was also checking reports the three could also be supporters of detained Muslim leader Mr Nur Misuari, a former governor of a semi-autonomous Muslim region in the south.