Malaysian soldiers launched an attack on an armed Filipino group on Tuesday, trying to end a standoff on Borneo island after violence in recent days that killed at least 27 people, a Malaysian government official said.

The operation to take over an area occupied by about 180 Filipinos, dozens of them armed, began at 7 a.m. (2300 GMT Monday), a spokesman for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said. The government sent seven army battalions to the area on Monday to reinforce police.

(Reporting by Niluksi Koswanage; Writing by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Paul Tait)