Islamist militants¹ have attacked a village in the southern Philippines, killing² at least 11 people, military officials have said.

菲律宾军方官员称，伊斯兰激进分子袭击南部某村庄，至少杀死11人。

About 70 members of Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to al-Qaeda, raided（袭击，突袭） Tubigan village on the southern island of Basilan, an army spokeswoman said.

Lt Steffani Cacho said homes had been raked（倾斜） with gunfire and set ablaze³（着火的） in a pre-dawn attack.

Philippines army reinforcements have been sent to the area, she added.

The militants were believed to have been avenging⁴（报复） the death of a senior leader on nearby Jolo island, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold（要塞，大本营） , Lt Cacho said.

However, Basilan police chief Antonio Mendoza said the attack had been motivated by a personal grudge⁵（怨恨，恶意） with the village chairman.

'Victims asleep'

Seventeen people were wounded in the attack with nine in a critical condition, four of them children, said regional health chief Dr Kadil Jojo Sinolinding.

"Most of the victims were still asleep when they were strafed（猛烈炮轰，扫射） and then their houses were torched," he said.

Abu Sayyaf is the smallest and most radical⁶ of the Islamic separatist groups in the southern Philippines.

Last weekend, Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad was killed in an attack by Philippines troops on a rebel camp on Jolo.