2 BIFF men killed in North Cotabato clash

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 2): 2 BIFF men killed in North Cotabato clash

Government forces and militiamen foiled another attempt by Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters to commit another atrocity in a remote village of Midsayap, North Cotabato Saturday, the Army said here today.

Brigadier General Ademar Tomaro, chief of the Army's 602nd Infantry Brigade based in Carmen, North Cotabato said about 15 heavily armed BIFF forces from Datu Salibo, Maguindanao crossed the Rio Grade de Mindanao and tried to enter the village of Polomoguin, Midsayap at 8 p.m.

But alert village watchmen and armed militia engaged them in an hour long firefight, forcing the rebels to flee.

Quoting civilian accounts, the militiamen reported that two BIFF fighters were killed and taken by the rebels.

As the fighting rages, elements of the 40th Infantry Battalion reinforced the militiamen until the raiding BIFF forces crossed the river separating Datu Piang and Midsayap.

The Army fired 81 mm mortars to drive away the rebels.

Composed of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the BIFF gained notoriety when the simultaneously attacked border towns in North Cotabato in 2008 following the botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

Led by foreign-trained and former field commander of the MILF Ustadz Ameril Kato, they bolted from the MILF and formed the BIFF which the military now considers as lawless and terrorist elements.

The Army blamed the BIFF in the series of atrocities in Maguindanao even during the holy month of Ramadhan.

It took responsibility in the series of roadside bombings in Maguindanao and North Cotabato.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=561237