10 Muslim bandits die, Army hurt in clashes in NorCot

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 3): 10 Muslim bandits die, Army hurt in clashes in NorCot

The Philippine Army (PA) here announced on Friday that ten Muslim bandits were killed in two days of sporadic skirmishes after they attacked military detachments in Pikit, North Cotabato.

Captain Anthony Bulao, speaking for the military's 602nd infantry brigade based here, said the renegade Moro rebels belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) had been harassing Army and militia positions in Barangays Paidu Pulangi, Nabalawag in Pikit, and adjacent villages in Aleosan, both in North Cotabato.

Bulao said three BIFF fighters were killed in a clash with elements of the 7th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Nabalawag on January 1.

A soldier was slightly wounded in the two-hour firefight until the guerrillas fled to Shariff Saydona, Maguindanao, a town separated only by a river with Pikit, North Cotabato.

“After they retreated they continued sniper shots," Bulao said.

On Thursday, seven rebels who attacked the village of Paidu Pulangi, also in Pikit, were killed after an hour-long firefight between the attackers and elements of the 7th Infantry Battalion, Bulao said.

“BIFF kept on harassing our forces in a bid to retaliate the death of their two companions,” Bulao said.

Bulao, citing intelligence information provided by local Muslim leaders, said that the BIFF, composed of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerillas who turned into banditry, had targeted the multi-billion peso Maridagao-Malitubog irrigation project.

"They would like to extort money from irrigation officials and Moro communities who have been earning much because of the irrigation project," Bulao told reporters.

The project provides irrigation to at least 10,000 hectares of rice fields in Pikit and exits water toward Rio Grande de Mindanao.

Abu Misry Mama, speaking for the BIFF, denied the military claim and stressed that not a single BIFF was hit by Army artillery fire.

“Our forces will continue to harass Army and CAFGU detachments, we advise the civilians near them to leave," Mama said in Filipino.

Bulao said the BIFF also attacked villages in Aleosan, Midsayap and Pikit, in North Cotabato since December 31.

These North Cotabato low-lying villages are separated by rivers with Datu Shariff Saydona, Maguindanao. The BIFF used the river in escaping back to Shariff Saydona.

Bulao said more troops were deployed at the lower portion of Mal-Mar irrigation project to prevent BIFF from harassing communities surrounding the dams.

The BIFF gained notoriety when they broke ties with the MILF in 2008 following the botched signing of Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

Led by former MILF field commander Uztads Ameril Umra Kato, the BIFF had launched simultaneous attacks against government forces in Maguindanao and North Cotabato last year, set off improvised bombs in populated communities and held hostage civilians, including teachers, in harassing villages.

Few civilian families have fled to nearby villages but returned home as the BIFF returned to the marshland.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=601489