Manila: The leader of a major separatist Muslim group has complained of their website being hacked, but added the damage has been contained, a local paper said.

"If you open Luwaran, our website, you can see that all posted were previous materials. We were hacked and we are fixing it now," Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) told the Inquirer.

He refused to comment when asked if he suspects the military in this issue.

Earlier, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed the MILF has been publishing erroneous information on the results of clashes between government soldiers and MILF fighters in the south.

The AFP dismissed the MILF claim of more armymen being killed than MILF fighters as false propaganda.

Release

Meanwhile, 20 MILF members, who surrendered to local authorities last August after MILF commanders attacked civilian towns in Lanao del Norte, were released on Thursday.

"The MILF members voluntarily put themselves under custody as they refused to participate in the attacks," said Teodoro Llanes of the Iligan City Police Office.

With inputs by Edwin General, Correspondent, Jolo