The Philippine military has killed scores of Muslim rebels this week in a sweep of the southern island of Mindanao, an army spokesman said.

"The latest count we have is 122 enemy killed," division commander Major Generoso Senga told Reuters news agency. The rebels dispute this figure.

The army is pursuing members of a notorious kidnap gang, whom it says are being harboured by Muslim rebels from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The people are very angry, they can't understand why these things are happening Father Roberto Layson

Fighting continued on Thursday when a group of rebels attacked the village of Bual near the town of Tulunan.

According to the army, the rebels withdrew when troops appeared, and escaped with eight male villagers as hostages.

But Jay Directo, a journalist in Mindanao, told the BBC's East Asia Today that the villagers denied any hostages had been taken, although they said they were briefly used as human shields whilst the rebels escaped.

Rebel denial

The MILF also denied taking any hostages, and played down army reports of heavy casualties.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told the Associated Press that only 17 guerrillas had been killed, along with 49 government soldiers.

The BBC correspondent in Manila, John McLean, says it is impossible to verify either the army or the rebel casualty figures.

He says that body counts on the ground do not match the claims from either side.

The rebels have vowed to continue fighting until government troops withdraw to their original positions.

They also refused to attend talks scheduled for Wednesday to end the fighting.

Kidnappers targeted

The fighting started on Tuesday when more than 2,000 soldiers advanced towards the MILF stronghold near Pikit, with tanks, artillery and planes.

The military says the attack was planned to flush out a group of kidnappers known as the Pentagon gang, which is on the list of US terrorist organisations.

The army has accused the MILF of sheltering Pentagon members, an accusation the rebels deny.

MILF guerrillas are campaigning for independence for the Muslim minority in the south of the Philippines - a predominantly Christian country.

Despite a ceasefire agreement signed in 2001, there continues to be sporadic outbreaks of violence.

Civilian deaths

So far up to 31,000 civilians have sought shelter from the fighting in schools and other government buildings.

Roberto Layson, a Catholic priest in Pikit, told the BBC that the people blame both the government and the MILF for the breakdown in the ceasefire.

"The people are very angry, they can't understand why these things are happening after all those agreements," he said.

He also said that three children had died whilst in evacuation centres.