MANILA -- (3rd UPDATE) At least 30 elite cops were reportedly killed as members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) clashed with Muslim rebels in Maguindanao on Sunday.
A Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) spokesman said at least four of its members and more than 30 cops were killed in the clash that happened near the remote town of Mamasapano before dawn.
The PNP in Mamasapano said it would still have to validate the information. But in a separate interview with the Associated Press, Mayor Tahirudin Benzar Ampatuan already confirmed that more than 30 cops were killed in the incident.
Interior and Government Secretary Mar Roxas earlier said 26 cops were killed in the incident, but later clarified that he is not certain with the numbers, as information continues to come in.
In a statement, Roxas said the cops, who are members of the PNP's Special Action Force (SAF), were pursuing a "high value target" involved in recent bombings in Mindanao.
"I understand that our men were going after a high value target involved in bombings in Mindanao. I am waiting further reports from PNP on this. I regret the loss of lives and condole with their families."
Meanwhile, in a separate interview, regional military spokesman Captain Joan Petinglay said the firefight between police commandos and the MILF happened near the remote town of Mamasapano before dawn Sunday.
"Ceasefire monitors are now on the ground to separate the forces and remove the casualties," said Petinglay, speaking to Agence France Presse by telephone from the neighboring town of Shariff Aguak.
Mohagher Iqbal, the lead MILF negotiator in a landmark peace deal signed in March last year, also confirmed the incident, but neither side would say how many fighters were wounded or killed, or to whom they belonged.
A source told ABS-CBN News that there are more than 30 casualties in the firefight. Authorities, however, said they have to validate reports referring to the total number of casualties.
The 10,000-member MILF had agreed to end decades of rebellion in the mainly Catholic nation in exchange for a proposed law now being debated in parliament that would give the minority Muslims self-rule in several southern provinces.
"This is the first encounter between the MILF and (government forces) this year. Hopefully, this will be the last," Iqbal told AFP by telephone.
He said the police had entered an MILF-influenced area without notifying the group first, while searching for members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which disagrees with the peace talks and broke away from the MILF in 2008.
"They (police) ran into an MILF force. The ceasefire monitors are now in the area," Iqbal added.
"We heard some people were killed, but I believe this will not affect the peace process," he added.
Both Iqbal and Petinglay said a joint government-MILF ceasefire committee and a small international monitoring team of soldiers and police from Malaysia and other countries had arrived in the area by the afternoon to "disengage" the two groups.
The clash in Mamasapano was only the second since two soldiers and 18 Muslim gunmen were killed in a clash in Basilan in April 2014.
Such incidents once broke out with much greater frequency prior to the signing of the treaty, during a rebellion that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
After the April fighting, the government accused the MILF of helping Islamic extremists under attack from security forces. The group acknowledged four of its members were killed.
Since the peace deal was struck, government forces have been going after the BIFF, a group of several hundred Muslim gunmen who last year pledged allegiance to Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
The military, meanwhile, said in a statement that they have already sent members of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), the Ceasefire Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) on ground to facilitate a peaceful resolution.
"The AFP helped the PNP in extricating police casualties of this morning's encounter while the PNP conducted operations against lawless elements and in carrying out a warrant of arrest.
"No military units were involved in the fighting. The IMT, AHJAG and CCCH are already in the ground to facilitate the peaceful resolution of the violent clash today. The PNP PIO will release the relevant info about the incident," the statement read.
Roxas said he hopes that peace in Mindanao will be achieved even after the incident.
"I trust that peace in Mindanao will be achieved when all sides, government and the MILF, as well as our people, will be steadfast in this resolve. Wala pong kapalit sa hustisya't kapayapaan. Hindi karahasan ang lunas," he said. -- with reports from Agence France-Presse and Arianne Apatan, ABS-CBN News Central Mindanao