MANILA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Four soldiers were killed and another wounded in an ambush staged by suspected members of the Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group in Lanao del Norte province in the southern Philippines on Friday morning, the military said.

Philippine Army Chief Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete said the attack occurred at a village in Munai town, where soldiers were conducting operations in coordination with law enforcement agencies.

Army spokesperson Colonel Louie Dema-ala said the soldiers were aboard a van and about to cross a river when an undetermined number of militants ambushed them.

The troops were on their way to the town proper and were part of a unit deployed to carry out a community support program in the area, he added.