Agence France-Presse
ILIGAN - At least 28 civilians and three
soldiers were killed Monday in a wave of Muslim separatist rebel
attacks in the southern Philippines, witnesses and officials said.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
rebels raided several towns in southern Lanao del Norte province,
looting businesses, burning homes and randomly attacking the mostly
Christian villagers, officials said.
Nine bodies were lying bloodied by a
roadside in the village of Lapayan in Kauswagan town as black smoke
billowed from houses burning nearby, AFP reporters said.
Five other civilians were killed in a
neighbouring village, residents fleeing the area told AFP. Six more
bodies were found in Kauswagan later Monday.
All 20 bodies were taken by troops to two mortuaries in Iligan city a few kilometres (miles) away, an AFP reporter saw.
Meanwhile, in the town of Kolambugan,
six civilians and three soldiers were killed, mayor Beltran Lumaque
said in a radio interview.
Another rebel unit struck the town of
Maasim, leaving two civilians dead as they ransacked a pawnshop and
looted a drug store, said military spokesman Major Randolph Cabangbang.
source: abs-cbnnews.com
