Toll of Filipino commandos killed in rebel clash rises to 43
At least 43 Philippine police commandos were killed in a fierce battle with Muslim guerrillas after launching an assault in which they may have killed one of southeast Asia's most-wanted terrorists, officials said Monday.
A police Special Action Force member remained missing while 11 others were wounded in the daylong clashes Sunday in a far-flung village of Mamasapano town in Maguindanao province in the biggest single-day combat loss for the Philippine government in recent memory, officials said.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas called the commandos "fallen heroes" who sacrificed their lives to try to capture Malaysian bombing suspect Zulkifli bin Hir, or Marwan. The top terror suspect may have been killed by the commandos, he said.
