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US Troops Remove Landmines in Philippine South |
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| PHILIPPINES: December 2, 2005 | ||
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MANILA - US troops on a humanitarian mission on a southwestern Philippine island helped local soldiers clear a minefield left by fleeing Islamic militants with links to al Qaeda, a Philippine military official said on Thursday.
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Hundreds of Philippine soldiers have been fighting about 150 Abu Sayyaf rebels and rogue members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on Jolo Island since Nov. 11. At least six soldiers have been killed and 33 wounded. Nearly 40 rebels have been killed in sporadic gunbattles around two towns, the army said. "We requested the technical assistance of the US soldiers to locate and detonate crude landmines in Patikul town," said an army colonel, who declined to be named. "They were not involved in any fighting against the rebels." About 200 US soldiers have been stationed in the southern Philippines since early 2002, advising and training local units in counter-terrorism tactics against four Muslim rebel groups and communist guerrillas.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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