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Five followers of Muslim leader Nur Misuari were killed and nine soldiers wounded in the southern Philippines as troops hunted the rebels, a military official has said.
Soldiers were searching for followers of suspended governor Nur Misuari when they encountered about 100 of his men, and a gunfight ensued, Colonel Roland Detabali said.
Intercepted radio messages of the rebels indicated they suffered high casualties and some bodies were dragged off by their comrades.
Misuari, a former rebel leader who became governor of a Muslim autonomous region as part of a 1996 accord, repudiated it on November 19, launching attacks on the military in Jolo island in order to block elections on November 26 for his post.
His revolt was quashed with more than 100 dead and Misuari was arrested in Malaysia after fleeing Jolo.
Another group of Misuari followers occupied a government complex on the outskirts of this city and later seized more than 100 civilian hostages to obtain a safe passage out of the city last week.
Among those who took part in the latest battle were members of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim group who were working with Misuari's forces, Detabali said.
The government is looking into alleged links between Misuari and the Abu Sayyaf, who have been kidnapping people and holding them for ransom for years.
The Abu Sayyaf are still holding two Americans and a Filipino nurse hostage in the nearby island of Basilan, the last remnants of their latest kidnapping spree launched in May.
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