Four Moro bandits were wounded in a clash with government
forces in remote villages of Talayan town in Maguindanao, the Army here said
Friday.
Nobody was hurt on the government side when Army Scout
Rangers traded shots with attacking members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters (BIFF) who simultaneously fired at two military detachments in
Barangay Lower Katibpuan, Talayan at about 5:00 a.m.
In a statement, Capt. Joann Petinglay, speaking for the 6th
Infantry Division, said the names of the wounded attackers are now the subject
of verification by elements of the 4th Scout Ranger Battalion in Talayan.
Earlier, soldiers were sent to reinforce a Scout Ranger
detachment in the village after the Army received information from civilians
about the impending harassment by the BIFF.
Petinglay said the attackers tried to surround the Army base
but the already prepared soldiers fired automatic rifles and artillery that
caught the BIFF members off guard and quickly fled.
Quoting reports from village officials and residents, the
Army said four armed men were seen being carried by their fleeing comrades.
Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, 6th ID chief, said the growing
awareness of the community on the presence of armed lawless groups in their
midst has affected the movement of BIFF in the marshland.
He said the positive response of the community made life
difficult for the lawless elements to move around and mulct civilians during
harvest season.
The night before the BIFF harassment, another band of
lawless elements fired B-40 rifle grenades toward an Army base in Barangay
Tukanalipao in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Tukanalipao was a village where PNP Special Action Force and
the MILF along with the BIFF clashed on January 25, leaving 44 police
commandos, 17 MILF and four civilians dead.
Lt. Colonel Joel Mamon, 40th Infantry Battalion commander
who has administrative and operation control over government forces in
Mamasapano, said the rockets misfired and landed near civilian houses.
He said the soldiers were stationed in the area to protect a
government project, a mosque and a concrete bridge.
Nobody was hurt in the incident in Tukanalipao which
happened past 9:00 p.m. Thursday.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=786079
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