Zamboanga City, Philippines  - One soldier was killed and five were injured in a botched attempt to rescue a kidnapping victim in the southern Philippines, a regional military spokeswoman said Friday.

The fighting erupted Thursday when troops conducting an operation to rescue a kidnapped employee of a lending firm encountered Muslim separatist rebels in Sumisip town in Basilan province, 900 kilometres south of Manila, Lieutenant Esteffani Cacho said.

Troops failed to rescue the victim, identified as Lea Patris, allegedly being held by a band of al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels in collusion with rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas, Cacho said.

The MILF, which is fighting for a separate Islamic state in the southern Philippines, has denied any links with the Abu Sayyaf and denounced terrorism.

Aside from Patris, Abu Sayyaf rebels are also holding captive in Basilan a 9-year-old boy and three schoolteachers, all abducted in January.

Three more schoolteachers were seized last week by unidentified gunmen in nearby Zamboanga Sibugay province.

On the nearby island of Jolo, where a separate band of Abu Sayyaf rebels were holding captive three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross, three soldiers were killed and 19 wounded in two days of clashes earlier this week.

The Abu Sayyaf is the smallest but most violent Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines. It has been involved in deadly terrorist attacks in the country and high-profile kidnapping-for-ransom cases. (dpa)