Armoured vehicles and artillery were used against about 50 gunmen from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on Mindanao island on Thursday, local military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Gerry Bisana said in a report.
The military said last month that gunmen linked to the Islamic State group have renewed an armed campaign to set up a caliphate in the region, home to the Catholic nation's Muslim minority.
Survivors of the Marawi siege have recruited a fresh force of about 200 gunmen, according to the military, with President Rodrigo Duterte warning they could attack other Mindanao cities.
Bisana said troops recovered the bodies of eight gunmen, although they believe the militants carried off 15 other dead comrades.
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"Soldiers have been vigilantly guarding the entire central Mindanao in order to constrict the firefight in specific... areas, and continue to pursue the remnants of the terror group," regional military chief Major-General Arnel dela Vega said.
The MILF has echoed Duterte's warnings in recent months, as the two sides pushed to get Congress to pass a Muslim self-rule law that both said would help roll back jihadist gains in Mindanao.
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