Seven dead as fighting mars Philippines peace talks

MANILA: Fresh fighting between Philippine troops and a renegade group of rebels left seven people dead Saturday amid peace talks aimed at ending a decades-old rebellion, the military said.

The gunmen, who oppose the main Islamic rebel group's negotiations with Manila, ambushed an army truck on the main southern island of Mindanao, regional military spokesman Colonel Dickson Hermoso said.

Two soldiers were wounded in the initial volley, but the army gave chase to the retreating gunmen and killed five of them, he said in a written report.

The pursuit also left two soldiers dead and four other soldiers wounded, Hermoso added.

Hermoso said the gunmen were members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The group had mounted attacks on Mindanao on July 6, two days before the government resumed peace talks with the region's main rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The earlier fighting had left five soldiers and three gunmen dead and sparked fears that it would affect the peace talks.

The military however ended its pursuit of the renegade rebel force before the talks resumed in Malaysia on Monday.