Suspected Muslim separatists detonated a roadside landmine in southern Philippines on Tuesday, killing one soldier and wounding two others, an Army official said. Major Randolph Cabangbang, regional military spokesman, told Xinhua that soldiers on board KM-450 vehicle were on their way back to their headquarters from a re-supply mission Tuesday morning when a landmine fashioned from a mortar shell went off along the road in Talayan township in Maguindanao province. Cabangbang said the attack killed Private First Class Bong Santos and wounded Ptivate Mark Anthony Lazaro and Private Darwin Antonio who were rushed to a local hospital by their comrades. 'There's an ongoing clearing operations at the blast site and our troops have carried out mine sweeping operation,' Cabangbang said. The sprawling marsh-land in Maguindanao is known to be a stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest rebel group in the Philippines. Last week, two people, including a soldier, were killed and four other state troops were wounded in bomb attack in nearby township of Datu Unsay staged by followers of Ameril Umbra Kato, a wanted MILF field commander. Kato led a series of attacks in the region on August last year that left scores dead and hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced. The MILF has been fighting for decades to establish an independent Islamic state in southern Philippines. Peace talks between the government and the 11,800-member MILF collapsed in August 2008 after the two sides failed to sign a territory agreement as scheduled. 