Rebels Acknowledge Leader’s July Death

The largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines said its chairman, Hashim Salamat, died of a heart attack July 13 but that it remained committed to resuming peace talks with the government. Al Haj Murad, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s military chief, has been named to replace Salamat, said Ghazali Jaafar, the group’s chief political officer.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, with an estimated force of 15,000, is the biggest of four rebel groups seeking an Islamic state in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country. The 31-year separatist revolt has killed more than 120,000 people, mainly civilians on Mindanao.