The death toll in the firefight between government forces and Moro separatists on Palawan’s Balabac Island has increased to 10, with the leader of the rogue Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) band among those killed, the military said on Thursday.

Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said seven bodies, including that of ring leader Abdullah Abdurajak, alias “Pa Guro”, were found on the island.

He said three of the marauders jumped off a pump boat which they used in their attempt to escape from pursuing troops and were believed to have been killed.

“After 96 hours of Fleet-Marine operations, including intelligence and personnel build-up, insertion of Naval Special Operations Group and Marines, time allowance given for negotiation, and eight hours of protracted firefight in close proximity, 10 MNLF men were declared dead, while five were captured, and a Marine personnel was wounded,” Arevalo said.

He said assorted firearms were also seized by government troops.

Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Admiral Ferdinand Golez, meanwhile, said he has ordered soldiers in the area to give due respect to the slain MNLF members.

“Give due respect to the dead MNLFs the way we want them to respect our fallen comrades that they will be first to have custody of after an armed confrontation,” he told soldiers who figured “in the successful liberation of Sitio Marabon, Matangule island in the Balabac municipality of Palawan.”

Arevalo said some 40 MNLF members stormed the island on Saturday, occupied a mosque, and sent around 400 families fleeing to a nearby island.

The Navy spokesman said the last part of the Fleet-Marine operation which started at around 7 a.m. on Tuesday ended after about eight hours of close-range firefight.

“The protracted skirmishes resulted to the death of 10 MNLF men, seven of whom were recovered, while three were no longer retrieved from the sea,” he said.

Those who jumped to the sea refused to surrender after warning shots were fired by pursuing troops and instead decided to shoot it out with the Navy SEALS, according to Commander Alberto Cruz, who is the task group head.

Three of the fatalities were identified as Abdurajak and his sons Ebrahim Sabtula and Said Abdulradjak. The others were identified only as alias “Kimpo”, Nuh Abdulradjak, Abdul Madjid, and one alias Sarip Hasim.

Those captured were Mannan Said, Bajar Usop, Sukarmo Jamal, Alqasim Ladjahassan, and Saheron Batiik.