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http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/03/09/philippines.hostages/index.html
MANILA, Philippines -- Unidenfitied gunmen in the southern Philippines seized a busload of hostages during renewed skirmishes with the army, killing one man before releasing the passengers, according to reports.
The dead man is believed to be a soldier traveling on the bus in civilian clothing, The Associated Press reports, but that has not been confirmed by the military.
The incident occurred at 5:30 a.m. Monday (10.30 pm. Sunday GMT) on the island of Mindanao, a spokesman for the military's Southern Command told CNN.
"All the civilians are free," an army officer, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
Between 30 and 40 people are believed to have been on the bus.
Investigators suspect a Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was behind the attack. The group has been linked to numerous attacks.
Government officials blamed the group for a bombing at an airport in Davao last week that killed 21 people and wounded 148, but the group denied responsibility. The government has since ordered the arrest of top MILF officials.
MILF is the biggest of several groups fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines.
Mayor Farida Malingco of the town of Dalengawen, near where the incident happened, told The Associated Press the gunmen fled as security forces approached the bus.
Army Colonel Carduzo Luna said a soldier in civilian clothes with a military ID was shot in the head and killed by the gunmen.
Luna said the soldier could have been one of the bus passengers.
One pro-government militiaman also was killed and five villagers wounded as troops chased the attackers, according to a local radio reporter at the scene, The Associated Press says.
The army said it was clashing with members of the country's largest Muslim separatist group around the town of Pikit, the scene of fierce fighting a month ago when soldiers overran a key MILF stronghold in the area.
MANILA, Philippines -- Unidenfitied gunmen in the southern Philippines seized a busload of hostages during renewed skirmishes with the army, killing one man before releasing the passengers, according to reports.
The dead man is believed to be a soldier traveling on the bus in civilian clothing, The Associated Press reports, but that has not been confirmed by the military.
The incident occurred at 5:30 a.m. Monday (10.30 pm. Sunday GMT) on the island of Mindanao, a spokesman for the military's Southern Command told CNN.
"All the civilians are free," an army officer, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
Between 30 and 40 people are believed to have been on the bus.
Investigators suspect a Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was behind the attack. The group has been linked to numerous attacks.
Government officials blamed the group for a bombing at an airport in Davao last week that killed 21 people and wounded 148, but the group denied responsibility. The government has since ordered the arrest of top MILF officials.
MILF is the biggest of several groups fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines.
Mayor Farida Malingco of the town of Dalengawen, near where the incident happened, told The Associated Press the gunmen fled as security forces approached the bus.
Army Colonel Carduzo Luna said a soldier in civilian clothes with a military ID was shot in the head and killed by the gunmen.
Luna said the soldier could have been one of the bus passengers.
One pro-government militiaman also was killed and five villagers wounded as troops chased the attackers, according to a local radio reporter at the scene, The Associated Press says.
The army said it was clashing with members of the country's largest Muslim separatist group around the town of Pikit, the scene of fierce fighting a month ago when soldiers overran a key MILF stronghold in the area.