Philippine authorities are investigating the deaths of four soldiers shot by police in the country’ s restive south , with the defence minister vowing Thursday to “ get to the bottom ” of the incident .
The plain - clothes soldiers were in pursuit of “ bomb - makers and suicide bombers ” from the Abu Sayyaf militant group when they were attacked by police in the Muslim - majority province of Sulu on Monday, the army has said .
Army chief Gilbert Gapay has accused the nine officers involved of murdering the men, while Philippine National Police has described the shooting as a “ misencounter” .
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the shootings were “ a very unfortunate incident ” , adding that the dead soldiers “ were just doing their jobs ” .
“ We don’ t want this to escalate . We will get to the bottom of this, ” he said .
The country’ s National Bureau of Investigation was probing the incident , and Lorenzana said the findings should be released soon .
The army has accused the police of firing on the soldiers even after they identified themselves as members of the military .
The officers have been detained while the investigation is underway , said Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano .
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