Troops battle Muslim guerrillas
Philippine troops attacked Muslim guerrillas in a southern province, setting off fierce exchanges of machine gun and artillery fire, after hundreds of rebels defied an ultimatum to withdraw from Christian villages, officials said.
At least six soldiers were wounded in clashes with Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters in the farming villages in Aleosan and Pikit, two of four rural townships of North Cotabato province where fighting erupted, said army Col. Diosdado Carreon.
The clashes have displaced up to 100,000 villagers in North Cotabato.
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