Army launch offensives vs. BIFF in Maguindanao

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 21): Army launch offensives vs. BIFF in Maguindanao
 

PIKIT, North Cotabato -- The Army's 6th Infantry Division and the 7th Infantry Battalion have launched Saturday ground offensives against lawless Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the Maguindanao marshland.

Government forces scoured the village of Kalbugan in Pagalungan, Maguindanao to hunt down the group of Kagi Karialan, BIFF field commanders who figured in a clan war with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MMILF) for more than a week now.

The clan war left more than 20,000 civilians fleeing to safer grounds.

An Army official said the offensive against the BIFF actually started Friday night with mortars fired toward the BIFF positions in the Liguasan marshland.

Early Saturday morning, the military used mortars and 105 howitzers in driving the BIFF deep into the marshland as two MG-520 attack helicopters providing air support to ground troops.

The MILF forces in Pagalungan and Pikit, Maguindanao stepped aside to allow the military operations.

Capt. Joanne Petinglay, speaking for the 6th Infantry Division, said elements of the 7th IB under Lt. Colonel Audie Edralin clashed with the group of BIFF leader Kagi Karialan in Barangay Bulol, Pagalungan, Maguindanao.

"Fighting is still on going, the Army offensive is against the BIFF," Petinglay said.

An official of the MILF said his group joined with the Army in hunting down the outlawed group.

"It is not actually a joint effort, its the government's offensive against lawless elements, we only provided them the intelligence information," the MILF field commander said in a phone interview, asking he remained unidentified for he was not authorized to speak for the group.

Petinglay said it was pure Army offensive and was not a "joint" Army-MILF operation against BIFF.

"No casualty was reported from both sides but the fighting was on going and it was very far from civilian communities," she said.

Kagi Karialan's group occupied at least four villages abandoned by residents when his group clashed with the MILF that left Commander Falcon of the MILF dead and four of his men.

As the BIFF occupied ghost communities, they torched at least 15 houses of Moro civilians who fled to the town center since last Sunday.

Abu Misry Mama, speaking for the BIFF, said the MILF-BIFF clashes since last week has already resulted in the death of more than 20 MILF members. He said the BIFF suffered only five fatalities.

Von Al Haq, speaking for the MILF military, denied Mama's casualty figure, describing it as mere propaganda.

Elements of the 7th IB backed by elements from 40th Infantry Battalion have been deployed in the towns of Pagalungan, Maguindanao and Pikit and Aleosan, in North Cotabato to prevent the BIFF from advancing.

Residents in these villages have claimed they heard loud explosions directed towards Barangay Kabasalan, a village both part of Maguindanao and North Cotabato since it was located in the boundary.

Capt. Petinglay said the Army offensive will continue until the BIFF are driven out of North Cotabato and Pagalungan.

The Pagalungan-Pikit skirmishes involving BIFF and MILF came days after the Mamasapano, Maguindanao encounter that left 44 police commandos, 18 Moro rebels, four civilians and Zulkifli bin Hir alias "Marwan" dead.

Meanwhile, a police officer said Saturday that aside from Marwan, another Indonesian jihadist was also killed along with the MILF in the Mamasapano carnage.

The police officer, who asked not to be named, said the Indonesian jihadist was identified as Amir Ibrahim who sneaked into the country and into Maguindanao allegedly to help Marwan get out of the province due to continues manhunt against him.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=737694