Philippine police: MORO's most influential figure killed

Philippine National Police-Special Action Force announced on Monday that Zulkifli bin Hir, known as Marwan, one of the most wanted militant and member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been killed in clashes with the police in the country's southernmost region.
The special police said in a statement that the Philippines Commandos clashed with the Moro militants in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, leaving Marwan and a number of police personnel killed.
Scores of members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force were killed in a clash with alleged members of the MILF in Mamasapano on Sunday, a clash that could test the peace negotiations between the government and the rebels.
The 10,000-member MILF had agreed to end decades of rebellion in the mainly Catholic nation in exchange for a proposed law now being debated in parliament that would give minority Muslims self-rule in several southern provinces.
The militants were scheduled to start disarming at the start of this year under the peace treaty.