Members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Forces load bodies of police commandos into vehicles in Maguindanao, Philippines, on Monday.

MANILA: At least 43 Philippine police commandos were killed in a fierce battle with Muslim guerrillas after launching an assault in which they may have killed one of Southeast Asia’s most-wanted terrorists, officials said Monday.

The clash Sunday — the biggest single-day combat loss for the government in recent memory — may have resulted from the commandos’ failure to follow the terms of a cease-fire with the guerrillas by notifying them of their presence in the area, a rebel leader said.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas described the clash as a “misencounter.” A police Special Action Force member remained missing while 11 others were wounded in the fighting in the remote village of Tukanalipao in Maguindanao province, officials said. Seven of the dead were officers.

Roxas called the commandos “fallen heroes” who sacrificed their lives to try to capture Malaysian bombing suspect Zulkifli bin Hir, or Marwan. The top terror suspect may have been killed by the commandos and efforts were underway to confirm that suspicion, he said.

Another top terror suspect, Filipino bomb-maker Abdul Basit Usman, managed to escape, according to Roxas, who flew to the south with the defense secretary and military and police chiefs following the police loss.

The United States has offered up to $5 million for Marwan’s capture and $1 million for Usman. Both have been blamed by US and Philippine authorities for deadly bomb attacks and providing bomb-making training to Al-Qaeda-linked militants in the country’s south.

“There is sadness and bitterness because there are more than 40 bodies here,” Roxas said at a news conference, where he promised to provide help to the slain commandos’ families.

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