The alert comes after the alleged killing
of Malaysian terrorist and bomb expert Zulkifli Bin Hir, also known as 'Marwan'
A police truck carrying the bodies of comrades passes the national highway during a retrieval operation on January 26, 2015 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao Province.
Government security forces put Mindanao on red alert for possible retaliatory attacks by militant sympathizers after
An intelligence
report said a Jihadist group from Mindanao ,
Ghuraba – blamed in series of deadly attacks in the region – reportedly warned
of retaliatory attacks after they confirmed the death of Malaysian terrorist
Zulkifli Bin Hir.
The group
reportedly coddled Marwan for months last year in Lanao del Sur before
transferring to Maguindanao.
Army Captain Joan
Petinglay, 6th Division spokesperson, said Saturday the military has
inserted additional troops in Maguindanao, setting up more check points to
prevent Zulkifli followers and allies from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters (BIFF) from launching bomb attacks.
Petinglay said
around 80 men, believed to be all members of the BIFF, and on board motorcycles
were spotted along the Maguindanao-Cotabato national highway.
“Our moves were
meant to contain the situation and for us to prevent armed men from launching
attacks,” she said.
More
visibility
In the province of Sultan Kudarat ,
troops were also alerted after sightings of guerrillas in the mountains of
Isulan, Esperanza and Tacurong
City
Senior
Superintendent Junie Buenacosa, police commander of Tacurong, said this comes days
after the intense fighting on January 25 that left 44 elite members of
Philippine National Police-Special Action Force dead. Eleven others were
wounded.
Police came to
Mamasapano for a “law enforcement operation and killed Zulkifli, also known as
Marwan, but they were attacked by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s 105thBase
Command as they were pulling out from the site.
Marwan, who has a
$5-million dollar bounty offered by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for
his involvement in the 2002 Bali bombing In
Indonesia that left 110 foreign nationals dead, was reportedly in the site of
the encounter.
Superintendent
Joefel Siason, the head of police in Isulan, said his town was placed on high
alert after sightings of armed men believed to belong to the BIFF.
“Our place is
close to Maguindanao and these people might sow terror. We strengthened our
visibility,” he said.
Call for
peace
A faith-based
network appealed for peaceful resolution of all conflicts amid the tragic
encounter in Mamasapano.
In a statement,
Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc (PMPI), a social development network of
Church-based groups, people’s organizations and non-governmental organizations,
asked for “sobriety and to clear our heads from negative thoughts that this
single incident forebodes of things to come and this will define the fate of
BBL and our peace project in Mindanao.”
The PMPI also
called on “all parties to prevent further escalation of conflict and
violence."
Aside from the
statement, members of the network’s executive committee shared their thoughts
regarding the incident.
Fr Edwin
Gariguez, one of the co-convenors and executive secretary of CBCP National
Secretariat for Social Action, asked for a no-holds barred investigation of the
incident and all-out justice for all the victims.
“Whoever
perpetuated for this incident to happen, they must be accountable. The
investigating committee should be composed of members coming from different
sectors to ensure its impartiality. We must opt to deliver all-out justice for
the victims and not [go for] an all-out war,” said Gariguez.
On Friday night,
Janaury 30, twin explosions hit the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat
http://www.rappler.com/nation/82506-mindanao-high-alert-retaliatory-attacks
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