Foreign terrorist, 72 BIFF rebels killed in AFP offensive

From the Manila Bulletin (Mar 10): Foreign terrorist, 72 BIFF rebels killed in AFP offensive

Government security forces have killed 72 Moro rebels and one suspected foreign terrorist in the on-going offensive against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao and North Cotabato, the military said Monday.

Lt. Col. Harold M. Cabunoc, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office (PAO) chief, said the series of clashes with the BIFF have also left four soldiers dead. That includes a young officer identified as 1Lt. Rommel Auman, Executive Officer 6th Scout Ranger Company, who died in the fierce fighting with at least 100 bandits.

Cabunoc said the military also suffered 29 men wounded in action (WIA).

“The AFP has dealt a big blow on the BIFF in the series of law enforcement operations that it carried out in North Cotabato and Maguindanao,” said Cabunoc during a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.

He said that as of 8 a.m. Monday, the military has logged 73 fatalities, 33 wounded, and four captured on the side of the BIFF.

Of the 73 fatalities on the enemy side, Cabunoc described one as “foreign-looking” who is believed to be among the five international terrorists being coddled by the group of Mohammad Ali Tambako, a former BIFF commander. Tambako had recently formed a new armed group, the Justice for Islamic Movement (JIM).

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala said in a television interview that one of the recovered bodies bear similarities to one of the United States’ most wanted Islamic militants. But he refused to name the suspect.

Cabunoc, on the other hand, also said that another slain BIFF gunman who was reported to be wearing a SAF shirt was a cousin of BIFF founder Ameril Umbra Kato. The suspect is believed to be getting instructions from Kato based on the messages in his mobile phone which was recovered by the soldiers.

The current law enforcement operations were triggered by the atrocities committed by the brigand group on civilian communities in North Cotabato in early February. At least 25,000 people have fled the fighting that ensued between the MILF and the BIFF in Pikit, North Cotabato.

The 6th Infantry Division has launched simultaneous calibrated law enforcement actions in different localities in Maguindanao February 25. The operations aimed to hunt down the Filipino bomb expert Basit Usman, Tambako and five Jemaah Islamiyah members.

Cabunoc said the AFP has extended the conduct of operations for another three days due to the continued presence and resistance of the BIFF bandits.

In one of the clashes during the weekend, the military said one of those killed was a suspected foreign terrorist whose body was retrieved by the Marines Battalion Landing Team 6 (MBLT6) last Sunday.

Lt. Col. Willie Manalang, commander of the MBLT, described the suspect as about 5’8 in height and fair skinned.

“He does not look Asian. He could be one of the foreign terrorists who were coddled by the BIFF,” he said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/foreign-terrorist-72-biff-rebels-killed-in-afp-offensive/