Suspected Muslim rebels shot dead three soldiers and five rubber plantation workers Sunday in the latest bout of violence that has killed dozens in the southern Philippines in days. The week's killings have put extreme pressure on President Benigno Aquino to review the faltering peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with some leading lawmakers calling for an all-out war.
MILF guerrillas ambushed the troops while they were on their way to facilitate the surrender of two militants in a remote area on Mindanao island, army spokesman Major Harold Cabunoc said. "The initial report is that three were killed and three were wounded," Cabunoc said.
The ambush came just hours after a large group of armed men also believed to be MILF fighters killed five plantation workers and injured eight on Basilan, an island province that is also part of Mindanao. Sunday's casualties brought the number of deaths blamed on the MILF to 35 since last week, in what is the deadliest eruption of violence involving the separatist group in recent years.
No group claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks, but the military said the MILF were known to operate in the areas where they happened.
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