Hanoi (VNA) - Philippine soldiers backed byarmoured vehicles have retaken a southern town held for 12 hours by pro-IslamicState (IS) militants, the army said on July 4.

Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Cabunoc, commander of the army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion, said troopspursued militants from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) group,who retreated to the hills after trying to occupy the town of Datu Paglas inMaguindanao province.

He added that the military will continue to “disruptthe BIFF's plan to sow terror into communities” in the south.

The clashes followed warnings by President RodrigoDuterte that remnants of pro-Islamic State militant groups had been stillrecruiting and planning attacks on several southern cities to set up anindependent and separate Islamic state.

Two weeks ago, the Philippine army launched offensivesagainst BIFF in Liguasan Marsh in NorthCotabato and Maguindanao on Midanao Island, southern Philippines.

BIFF is a splinter group of the larger Moro IslamicLiberation Front and has up to 400 members. It is among the several militantgroups in Mindanao that pledged allegiance to the self-proclaimed Islamic Statea few years ago. They are active in the central Mindanao area, especially inCotabato city, as well as the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, andSultan Kudarat.-VNA