Members of outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
(BIFF) tried, but failed, to over-run an Army detachment in Datu Piang,
Maguindanao Wednesday night, the military here said.
Colonel Warlito Limit, commander of the 2nd Mechanized
Battalion, said undetermined number of suspected BIFF fighters crawled at the
back portion of Kaungan Detachment in Datu Piang and opened fire using M-16
Armalite rifles and M-203 rifle grenades at past 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The continuous firing from BIFF lasted for about 20 minutes
until the military fired 60 mm mortars to drive away the attackers. They fled
undercover of darkness.
Nobody was hurt in the incident but villagers living near
the Army base have fled to safer grounds. They returned home the next day.
Limit said harassment from lawless elements happen every now
and then, targeting Army units stationed in Datu Piang and nearby towns.
"This is to show they are still a force to reckon
with," Limit told reporters, adding that about four or five armed men
carried out the attempt to capture the military detachment.
Limit said prior to the attack, civilians have alerted the
military about the BIFF plot to overrun the base in Barangay Kaungan in Datu
Piang.
"With the information, we strengthened our perimeter
defense by putting up barbed wires with sharp blades to prevent attackers from
coming in," he said.
The BIFF composed of former members of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) has been fighting the military in Maguindanao's second
district.
It was now reduced to a ragtag group after a month-long Army
law enforcement in January this year that left 120 BIFF, and 10 soldiers
killed.
Per military estimate, the BIFF is now only composed of
about 60 persons engaged in highway robbery, gun for hire, cattle rustling,
bombings and extortion activities preying on hapless Moro farmers in
Maguindanao.
It has repeatedly tried to capture Army detachments. It was
also blamed for roadside bombings targeting military vehicles.
Limit assured the highway in Datu Piang remained safe withe
more government forces providing road security to motorists.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=832071
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