Cotabato City, Philippines - Three Muslim separatist rebels and one government militiaman were killed in a clash in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said Sunday. The firefight erupted when 25 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels stormed an outpost of government militiamen in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao province, 930 kilometres south of Manila, on Saturday.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce said the militiamen fought the rebels until soldiers arrived in armoured personnel carriers.

Ponce said one militiaman was killed in the fighting, while the bodies of the three slain rebels were recovered along with three M-16 rifles.

Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the rebel group initiated the fighting and claimed that the government militiamen attacked the village of Tapikan, where many guerrillas lived with their families.

"Our forces were forced to retaliate," he said.

The MILF is the largest Muslim rebel group fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern region of Mindanao.

Peace talks between the MILF and the Philippine government have been suspended since August 2008 when the rebels launched a series of attacks in Mindanao, triggering fierce fighting with the military.

Nearly 300 people were killed in the attack and subsequent fighting, while more than 500,000 civilians were displaced by the violence.

The hostilities erupted after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of a key agreement between the MILF and the government that would have expanded a Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. (dpa)