Monday, June 22, 2015

BIFF ambushes 2 soldiers repairing school in Maguindanao town

From GMA News (Jun 22): BIFF ambushes 2 soldiers repairing school in Maguindanao town

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguidanao— Two young soldiers were killed in attack by members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) around on Monday afternoon.
 
Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson of Army 6th Infantry Division, said the attack happened while the two soldiers were entering the town from nearby Datu Unsay where they were repairing a school.
 
Initial reports gathered by the military said the unarmed soldiers were on a motorcycle and were going to fetch building materials from the military outpost in Shariff Aguak when they were tailed by the armed men.
 
The two soldiers — still only privates — were shot by assailants who were also on motorcycles more than 100 meters from their camp.
 
One was hit in the head and another in the back.
 
Assailants also snatched the motorcycle of the soldiers and fled towards the SPMS box, or the area bounded by the towns of Shariff Aguak, Pagatin, Mamasapano, Salbo.
 
The soldiers were rushed to the Maguindanao provincial hospital but they were declared dead on arrival. Their names have been withheld until their families are notified of their deaths.
 
“It's very unfornate that these unarmed soldiers working for peace were killed in a treacherous way by the BIFF. They don’t even care for the future of the children in the area where these victims has dreamed also to uplift the education of the kids," Petinglay in a statement.
 
Repairs have been underway at Meta Elementary school in Datu Unsay town after the school was damaged by fighting. The school is riddled with bullet holes and damage from mortar explosions from fighting against the BIFF last year.
 
Last week, BIFF also attacked soldiers of the  2nd Mechanized Battalion in Datu Piang town. A soldier was killed and two others were wounded in the attack.
 
This was followed by an ambush on a Sports Utility Vehicle that left two people — one was wearing a police uniform — dead.
 
The BIFF's psokesman, Abu Misry Mama, when asked if the group was behind the attack on the two soldiers, replied: “ No other group now is fighting against the military, it is only the BIFF”.
 
The BIFF is a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. While the MILF has signed a peace agreement with the government, the BIFF has rejected the peace process and has continued to attack government forces.

The AFP launched an all-out offensive against the group earlier this year.
 

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