Bands of Muslim rebels stormed into several towns Aug. 18 in a bloody daylong rampage that killed at least 26 people and displaced 7,000, triggering a swift military response.

About 200 to 500 Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels cut off a main highway in the troubled south and raided up to five coastal towns in Lanao del Norte province Aug. 18, burning houses and shooting or hacking to death civilians, and taking others captive.

Troops reacted quickly, and flushed out the rebels with tanks and helicopter gunships under orders from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who issued a televised condemnation of the raids, calling them "sneaky and treacherous."

The escalation of fighting on Mindanao island came amid uncertainty over the fragile peace process after the Supreme Court — acting on a petition filed by Christian politicians wary of losing land and power — blocked a preliminary agreement with the rebels calling for an expanded Muslim autonomous region.