ZAMBOANGA (Philippines), Aug 9: At least 20 soldiers and a child were killed on Thursday as fighting between government forces and Muslim gunmen spread in the southern Philippines, the military said.

Gunmen ambushed a military convoy and killed 10 soldiers near Maimbung town, military sources said.

A child was also killed in the crossfire, they said.

They said the attackers were understood to be members of the Moro National Liberation Front.

Earlier, nine soldiers were killed and two others wounded in a nearby village in an attack believed to be launched by the Abu Sayyaf, said local military spokesman Maj Eugene Batara. One of the wounded soldiers later died in hospital, a source said.—AFP