Philippine army seize rebel camps

Philippine troops have been ordered to hunt and launch attacks against Muslim rebels

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines -- Government troops have seized six Muslim guerilla camps in the southern Philippines as fighting between the military and a rebel group entered its fourth day.

The death toll from the fighting has risen to about 160 on Thursday as vintage warplanes pounded suspected rebel stations in the mountainous island of Jolo, 960 km (600 miles) south of Manila.

"At least six camps have already been taken over" in the municipalities of Patikul, Parang and Indanan in the interior of the island, southern military commander Lieutenant-General Roy Cimatu told Reuters news agency.

The fighting between more than 7,000 soldiers and about 600 gunmen of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) began Monday when hundreds of Muslim guerrillas broke a stormed an army outpost in Jolo.

Administration officials have accused Muslim regional governor Nur Misuari of instigating the revolt to prevent the holding of local elections on Monday which he is likely to lose.

Misuari is the former leader of the MNLF, which was disbanded after Misuari agreed to sign a 1996 peace treaty in exchange for an autonomous Islamic state in the south.

Cimatu gave no figures on casualties in the latest fighting but said a body count showed 48 rebels had died in earlier clashes while "more than 100" others are estimated to have been killed in strikes by helicopter gunships and bomber planes.

At least four soldiers and seven civilians have been killed, while more than 6,000 villagers fled their homes.

Rebellion

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The government filed charges of rebellion against Misuari on Thursday.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina said an arrest warrant had been issued against Misuari.

But Armed Forces chief General Diomedio Villanueva said he had received intelligence reports suggesting Misuari had left the country.

"We received reports that Nur Misuari fled to Sabah, Malaysia, going to the Middle East," Villanueva said.

"It's still subject for verification. I don't know the exact date and time [when he left]," he told reporters in Manila.

A top Misuari aide has refused to say where the MNLF chairman was, and denied military reports that he was wounded in the military bombings.

"He is in a very safe place... He is away from harm," Misuari's executive secretary, Abdurahman Amin, said in a telephone interview with Manila's ANC television network.

Reinforcements

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Meanwhile, hundreds of government reinforcements have been brought to Zamboanga and heavily armed troops patrolled the city, following reports that the MNLF had forged a tactical alliance with the Abu Sayyaf.

The Bush administration has linked the Abu Sayyaf group to Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, suspects in the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The Abu Sayyaf have been holding a U.S. missionary couple and Filipino hostages for nearly six months.

The Philippine military says Misuari has formed an alliance with the Abu Sayyaf.