Philippine military officials on Sunday vowed to hunt down remaining splinter groups of hardline Muslim rebels after capturing their main camps in a week-long offensive.

The threat posed by members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) has diminished due to the offensive that began Monday in remote parts of the troubled southern island of Mindanao, said national military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala.

"They have split into smaller groups and further operations must be done to follow up," he told reporters.

These operations will be "smaller in scale," he said, adding that they would also be held in coordination with the main Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The operation against the BIFF was launched two days after the government and the MILF successfully concluded peace talks aimed at ending decades of fighting that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The BIFF broke away from the MILF due to their opposition to the talks and has previously launched attacks to derail the peace process.

At a military camp in the town of Awang, the armed forces displayed items they recovered from the BIFF camps including bomb-making materials and pictures showing young boys being trained as soldiers for the militant group.

This supported military accusations that the BIFF were using child soldiers and that three such youths were among the 53 insurgent fighters killed in the violence.

One soldier was also slain in the fighting which included military artillery strikes of BIFF camps.

A BIFF spokesman had previously denied that the group was using children and said the military were manufacturing the evidence.

Among the other items captured in the camp were camouflage uniforms with MILF labels.

However MILF vice-chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar denied there was still a link between the two groups.

"Those are not MILF uniforms. Anybody can make those uniforms," he told AFP.

Military spokesman Zagala also said there were no signs that the MILF was cooperating with the BIFF.

President Benigno Aquino on Wednesday had previously vowed to crush "spoiler" rebels who were opposed to the peace deal.

Two Philippine TV journalists wounded in bomb blast
Saudi Ampatuan, Philippines (AFP) Feb 01, 2014 - Two journalists at a major Philippine TV broadcaster were injured on Saturday after a bomb exploded as they were covering fighting between soldiers and hardline Muslim rebels, a military commander said.

A reporter and cameraman at ABC-5 were among at least six civilians hurt by the improvised explosive device that exploded in Saudi Ampatuan town in the troubled southern island of Mindanao, said Colonel Edgardo Gonzales.

Six soldiers were also wounded in the explosion, the military added.

"This morning... as our soldiers were on a security patrol, they were hit by an IED. By coincidence the civilians and the TV crew were there," Gonzales told AFP.

The head of ABC-5's news division, Luchi Cruz-Valdes said cameraman Adrian Bulatao's injury was "serious" with shrapnel wounds over the right side of his body.

"Bulatao is in shock but conscious, in pain," she said in an SMS message.

TV reporter Jeff Caparas was also wounded but was still on his feet, she added.

"It was a good thing they were wearing protective helmets and vests," said regional military spokesman Colonel Dickson Hermoso.

Caparas later said over the TV station that his crew had stopped to cover an earlier bomb blast when another explosion took place.

The news team had been covering days of fighting between government forces and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway Muslim rebel group opposed to peace talks with the main Muslim organisation.

The military has said that 52 rebels and one soldier had been killed since the government launched an offensive against the BIFF almost a week ago.

The military operation was launched after the government successfully concluded peace talks with the main Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in order to end decades of fighting that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The BIFF is opposed to the talks and has previously launched attacks such as bombings in order to derail the peace process.