MANILA — Hundreds of troops, backed by assault helicopters, launched offensives on two strongholds of a breakaway Muslim guerrilla group in southern Philippines that had attacked at least 14 military camps and outposts, officials said Thursday.
The brazen attacks, which started Sunday, have left at least four soldiers dead, including one who was beheaded, while at least two rebels were killed in the counteroffensive, according to the government. But a regional army spokesman, Colonel Prudencio Asto, said the rebel death toll had reached 15 by Thursday, citing intelligence reports.
The rebel group broke off last year from the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is involved in peace talks with the government.
Known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement, it opposes the negotiations and has vowed to continue fighting for an independent homeland for minority Muslims in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
The group’s leader, Ameril Umbra Kato, had a stroke in November, plunging his group into uncertainty, but the renewed fighting indicates he still has firepower.
Governor Mujiv Hataman said the military and police have strengthened security in public areas in a five-province Muslim region that he heads to prevent diversionary attacks like bombings from Kato’s fighters.
‘‘We cannot allow any group to carry out brazen attacks and get away with it,’’ Hataman said.
Troops were moving cautiously to avoid widespread disruptions amid the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, he said. More than 25,000 residents have been displaced by the fighting, according to the Office of Civil Defense.