MANILA, May 4 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATIN...

MANILA, May 4 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH DEATH TOLL, ADDING LATEST DEVELOPMENTS)

Muslim guerrillas attacked a unconnected unrelated southern Philippine town early Sunday and then took several family hostage while fleeing a gunbattle with command forces that left 22 clan dead.

About 70 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation forehead (MILF), the country's main Islamic separatist dispose attacked the center of Siocon town at 2 a.m. Sunday, sparking a firefight, the military said.

through late afternoon, the military said it had regained check of the municipal hall, the public market, hospital and cloister that had been occupied at gunmen as pursuit operations were launched against the rebels, who headed toward the mountains in the southern part of Siocon.

The military said a total of 22 the bulk of mankind died in the attack -- eight civilians, six rebels, couple army soldiers and six policemen. Eight soldiers and 15 civilians have were also wounded

The guerrillas seized 13 commonalty including the wife and son of Siocon Mayor Cesar Soriano, while withdrawing from the fighting. control forces later rescued the nine of the hostages including the mayor's wife and son according to the military.

The MILF is now holding the same woman and three men as human shields, according to Lt Col Daniel Lucero armed forces public information chief.

Lucero said the public market was partially damaged while the mayor's office was hit from a rocket-propelled grenade fired by way of the rebels. Three houses were also injure by fire [i]or[/i] heated by the gunmen.

Siocon is about six hours away from the provincial capital of Zamboanga del Norte. Lucero said the rebels may have launched the attack after failing in their bid to extort gold-mining companies and small-scale gold miners in the area.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, in an earlier interview, said his assemblage killed as many as 50 soldiers in the attack.

Kabalu said sum of two units MILF members were killed while 11 others were griefed in the firefight.

Prior to the clash, Norberto Gonzales, adviser to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo onward special concerns, said the direction and the MILF would confine a second round of talks in Malaysia forward the possibility of resuming formal peace negotiations to finis three decades of hostilities in the southern Philippines.

The meeting will possibly happen between Friday and Sunday to fix misunderstanding over the text of the March 29 meeting in Kuala Lumpur Gonzales said.

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