MARAWI CITY- Army soldiers who are conducting security patrol here were ambushed by heavily armed men late last night (Wednesday).

The 14-man strong patrol belonging to the 65th Infantry Battalion led by Lt Col Siegred Espina, was on board a KM 450 truck when they were fired upon by undetermined number of gunmen in the Mindanao State University campus grounds at around 9:00 pm.

The soldiers fought back the attackers who fled after inflicting casualties on the government troops, after about 30mins of exchange of fires.

Three soldiers were killed while 10 others were wounded in the attack. The wounded personnel were promptly brought to a local hospital for treatment.

Col Daniel Lucero, the Commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, has launched pursuit operations to hunt down the perpetrators of the crime.

Government authorities are looking at the angle of retaliation for the unit's anti-illegal logging operations as the motive of the attack. The unit is also actively involved in anti-illegal drug campaign in coordination with the PDEA and the local police.

The 9th Infantry Division has started processing the financial benefits due to the families of the slain soldiers.

The 65th Infantry Battalion is a unit from the 9th Infantry Division that was augmented to the troops of the 103rd Infantry Brigade in keeping the peace in Lanao del Sur.

As part of its mandate, soldiers are conducting security patrols in downtown Marawi City, including the MSU campus in order to check the presence of lawless elements.