Twelve militants have been killed in the southern Philippines during a gun battle with security forces that left seven soldiers wounded, the army said in a statement.

The firefight happened Monday in Maguindanao del Sur province on Mindanao island, a haven for multiple armed groups ranging from communist insurgents to Islamist militants.

The Philippine Army said the leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters-Karialan Faction and his brother were killed along with 10 fighters. Seven soldiers were wounded.

Soldiers seized 12 high-powered firearms, including five M16 rifles, said the army statement released late Monday.

The restive south of the Philippines is home to a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency and to extremist gangs that have declared allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Manila signed a peace pact with the nation’s largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in 2014, ending their deadly armed rebellion.

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