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Filipino troops capture dozens more Moro rebels
Philippine troops took custody of at least 45 more Moro rebels -- all exhausted and low on ammunition -- and six combatants were killed Thursday as a guerrilla siege that has dragged for three weeks in a southern city continued to crumble, officials said
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hilippine troops took custody of at least 45 more Moro rebels -- all exhausted and low on ammunition -- and six combatants were killed Thursday as a guerrilla siege that has dragged for three weeks in a southern city continued to crumble, officials said.
The Moro National Liberation Front rebels either surrendered or were captured in pockets during clashes in coastal communities they began occupying on Sept. 9 after government troops foiled their plan to take over the Zamboanga city hall, military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said.
Troops need to completely clear the coastal communities of rebels before they can declare the guerrilla siege that began Sept. 9 over, Zagala said. The main target is top rebel commander Habier Malik and an unknown number of his followers, he said.
"They have essentially been defeated," Zagala said. "They have no more bullets, food and the willingness to fight but we have to clear the area to the last rebel."
Government forces have killed 138 rebels while 162 other insurgents have either been captured or surrendered in a major offensive initially overseen by President Benigno Aquino III in Zamboanga, a major port city of nearly a million people
