MINDANAO, Philippines, June 8 (UPI) -- Rebels have killed four members of the Philippine security forces on the southern island of Mindanao, breaking a cease-fire of nearly two years.
An army report made public Wednesday said two of the victims were killed Sunday by three newly trained recruits of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who boarded the minibus on which the two were traveling and shot them dead.
The report described the incident as a "test mission" for the new recruits, Xinhua said.
In a second attack the same day, some 40 rebels attacked a farming village, abducting and later executing two militiamen.
The MILF signed a cease-fire with the Philippine government in July 2003. The two sides were scheduled to meet in Malaysia next month for talks ahead of signing a peace treaty later this year to end the decades-old rebellion.
The army said it would submit a protest to the joint committee that monitors the cease-fire with the MILF.
