COTABATO (Philippines), July 7: Five Philippine soldiers and three rebels have been killed in clashes ahead of the resumption of talks aimed at ending a decades-old rebellion, the military said on Sunday.

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a splinter guerrilla group, ambushed an army truck and attacked an army camp on Saturday, said regional military chief Major-General Romeo Gapuz.

The fighting occurred two days before the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s largest Muslim guerrilla force, were to resume talks in neighbouring Malaysia on Monday.

“The BIFF is hell-bent on derailing the (Philippines-MILF) peace talks by launching simultaneous attacks against civilian and military installations,” Gapuz said in a written statement.

A spokesman for MILF, which is observing a ceasefire, warned the fighting could spread before the resumption of talks.

The BIFF set off a roadside bomb as a military truck drove past in the mainly rural Datu Piang municipality, killing three soldiers, officials said. A Philippine Army unit based nearby killed three of the rebels in a subsequent firefight, they added.

BIFF forces simultaneously attacked an army detachment in another section of the town, killing two other soldiers, a military report said.—AFP