At least 16 rebels and soldiers were killed in new clashes in Maguindanao in the troubled Muslim autonomous region in southern
Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, a spokeswoman for the 6th Infantry
Division, said among those slain were four army soldiers, who fought off
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in the towns of Datu Unsay, Datu Ampatuan
and Shariff Saydona over the weekend.
She said a notorious rebel leader known only as Commander
Bisaya was killed along with two relatives of another senior BIFF leader
Commander Karialan, whose group ambushed a military convoy escorting an
ambulance transporting wounded soldiers in Elian village in Datu Saudi
Ampatuan.
More than a dozen gunmen and soldiers were also wounded in
the fighting, she said, adding, security forces resumed the operations against
the BIFF forces on Monday.
She said Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, the division
commander, ordered troops to continue without letup the campaign against the
rebel group blamed for the spate of attacks and bombings in the region.
“General Pangilinan ordered troops to continue pursuing what
was left of the BIFF after the month-long law enforcement operation,” Petinglay
told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
She also quoted Pangilinan as saying: “Let us not give the
bandits a chance to reorganize and regroup so that they cannot continue
conducting terror activities in the communities.”
Troops were battling the BIFF the past weeks now after the
military ordered an all-out offensive against the small group that broke away
with the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front which signed a peace deal with Manila
It was unknown if troops recovered any of the slain rebels,
but most of the military reports were based on intelligence provided by
villagers in those towns.
The BIFF continues to fight for an independent Muslim state
in Mindanao .
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2015/03/16-rebels-soldiers-killed-in-philippine.html
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.