Philippine military: End of Zamboanga clash is near

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Sunday that its forces are now close to completing their operations to end the prolonged conflict with the Muslim rebel group of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Southern Philippine city of Zamboanga since Sept. 9. AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said in a phone interview that the calibrated military operation has become aggressive in last few days, with the firm resolve of rescuing the remaining hostages and defeating the enemy. \"We have an imminent defeat of the enemy. The AFP\'s resolve is firm and the completion of this campaign is imminent,\" added Zagala. The operations are led by elite forces from the AFP\'s Special Operations Command. The military began enforcing a calibrated response in Sept. 13 when negotiations with the MNLF forces seemed to have failed and when the armed group fired mortar rounds on government troops manning a cordon and burning buildings. \"We are now at a critical point of the operation, we are closing in on the enemy. Our actions here will imminently defeat the enemy ... We will have the enemy\'s defeat at this critical time,\" the official said. Zagala said that since the beginning of the clash 14 soldiers and policemen have died and 144 others were wounded. He said the number of hostages is now down to about 20 after the rescue, release or escape of 174. On the enemy side, Zagala said their remaining strength is only about 40. He said a total of 102 MNLF fighters have been so far killed, while 72 were apprehended and 45 have surredered to government troops. \"We are still doing constriction but the area where they (MNLF men) is getting smaller. The forces of Malik have a little area to go,\" said Zagala, referring to MNLF commander Ustadz Habier Malik who is leading the MNLF forces in the area.