Philippine officials on Friday blamed Muslim rebels for the killing of at least six soldiers and police in a series of fresh attacks, just days after one of the worst clashes in years between government forces and the region's largest Muslim rebel group.

Police said members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ambushed a military convoy and a joint army-police patrol on the restive southern island Mindanao late Thursday, killing at least three soldiers and three police.

At least six other officers were wounded and another was missing following the clashes.

A rebel spokesperson said Friday that MILF rebels carried out the attacks in retaliation for alleged military attacks on Muslim villages.

Earlier this week, 19 soldiers and at least six rebels died following clashes on Basilan island.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has called a meeting with top military officials on Friday to assess the security situation.

The fighting erupted at dawn Tuesday, as soldiers investigated reports of rebel incursions and kidnappings by MILF members in the island's southeast. The military and rebels blamed each other for provoking the fighting.

Peace talks between Philippine officials and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front hit a snag early last month, when the MILF said government and rebel peace proposals offered during negotiations in Malaysia were so far apart there was no point in restarting talks.

The talks are aimed at ending a revolt that began in the 1970s and has claimed at least 150,000 lives. All prior attempts at peace talks have ended in failure.