Three gunmen were killed and six soldiers wounded when troops clashed with a group of armed men believed to be protecting escaped Jemaah Islamiyah bomber Fathur Rohman al Ghozi in the southern Philippines, the military said. First infantry division chief Major General Trifonio Salazar, who heads a military task force leading the hunt, said Sunday the clashes took place in a mountainous area near the town of Sultan Naga-Dimaporo in the southern province of Lanao del Norte. "There was a running gunbattle. The fighting is ongoing. Scout rangers clashed with gunmen believed to be securing al Ghozi," Salazar said, adding that three gunmen were killed and six soldiers wounded so far. It was not clear what group the armed men belonged to, he said, although the area is a known stronghold of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is said by intelligence operatives in the region to have strong links with the Jemaah Islamiyah.

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