Seven former Muslim rebels have been killed in the southern Philippines in an attack claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, military and police authorities said yesterday.
They said the dead were all members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), formerly the country’s largest guerrilla group but which began decommissioning weapons last month under the terms of a 2014 peace treaty.
A pro-ISIS armed group called Dawlah Islamiyah attacked a MILF camp near the town of Shariff Saydona on Friday, sparking fighting that lasted several hours, said Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto Gener, commander of a local army battalion.