Troops kill 10 rebels in southern Philippines

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MANILA, May 27 (Reuters) - Philippine troops killed 10 rogue Muslim rebels in a massive sea-air-land assault on a remote island in the south on Wednesday, a navy admiral said.

The military launched the offensive, backed by navy boats and helicopter gunships, a day after renegade Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas freed three teachers they held for over four months on Basilan island, said Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, navy commander in the south.

"We lost one lieutenant in the assault operations, but we got 10 of them," Pama told Reuters.

The main MILF has acknowledged it cannot rein in renegades within its ranks, and says it hopes to resume peace talks with the government. But it has said the widening military offensive against the rogue factions risked drawing in moderates.

"We're anticipating a protest from the MILF because we're now hitting one of their bases on the island. But the rebel leaders must also explain the presence of the kidnappers in their area," said Pama.

Basilan is also a base for the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic rebel group blamed for the worst attack in the Philippines, the blowing up of a ferry in Manila Bay in 2004 in which more than 100 people were killed.

Sporadic clashes were reported late on Wednesday as troops pursued the rebels who fled to the forested interior of Basilan, Pama said, adding that the pressure exerted by the military forced the rebels to free their hostages on Tuesday.

Three people, including a Sri Lankan aid worker, remain in the hands of kidnappers on Basilan, while Italian Red Cross engineer Eugenio Vagni has been in captivity for over five months now on nearby Jolo island.

Kidnap gangs also hold three more teachers in coastal areas in nearby Zamboanga peninsula on the main Mindanao island. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Jerry Norton)