Security forces clashed with a group of armed men in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao last Sunday that resulted in the death of at least one person and confiscation of two high-powered firearms, a police official revealed Tuesday.

Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), identified the lone fatality as Amir Oden Gumaga, reportedly a member of a partisan armed group operating in Maguindanao.

Gumaga’s body was recovered at the site of the fighting.

Policemen and soldiers were reportedly conducting a patrol in Barangay Satan at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday when they chanced upon a group of armed men, triggering a gun battle that lasted for 30 minutes.

The rebels withdrew after the clash, leaving behind the body of Gumaga and two M-16 rifles.

Espina said there were no reported casualties on the side of the soldiers and policemen.

Joint police and military teams are operating in Maguindanao in search of arms caches following the killing of 57 people in Maguindanao last November which is blamed on members of the Ampatuan clan.