More than thirty members of the elite special action force of the Philippine National Police (PNP) died in a Sunday morning encounter with alleged elements of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

The PNP-SAF was serving a warrant of arrest and was in pursuit of suspects involved in the recent spate of bombings in Maguindanao province when the deadly encounter happened.

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Transmission lines in Mindanao, owned and operated by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), where the State Grid of China Corporation has a forty (40%) stake were being bombed.

The PNP was particularly pursuing Malaysian national Zulkipli Abdhir, alias "Marwan" is wanted for bomb making and a high level official of the terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (J.I.).

Jemaah Islamiya is the same group responsible for the 2002 bombing in  Bali, Indonesia

Abhir graduated in the United States with a degree in telecommunications engineering until he first joined the terror group Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia before joining J.I. He is among the most wanted personalities by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Since 2003, Abdhir was reported to be hiding in the jungles of Mindanao under the protection of the Abu Sayyaf Group.

PNP officer-in-charge, Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, has ordered retaliatory operations against the group.

During Monday's flag raising ceremonies at the police headquarters in Manila, the Philippine flag was raised at half-mast to pay tribute to the fallen police officers.

Reports remain unclear Monday morning as to how the incident started as five members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front also died in the encounter.

During an interview on a local radio station, Mohagder Iqbal, chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, says they still have no detailed information on the encounter.

The MILF and the Government of the Philippines entered into a peace agreement and a law creating a Bangsamoro Region is pending before Philippine legislature.

Iqbal denies initial reports that the elements were members of the MILF. The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters is a break away faction of the MILF that refuses to recognize a peace process and continues to demand secession from the Philippines and the establishment of a Mindanao republic.

Tagspolice, PEACE TALKS, Mindanao, Islamic militants