Moro bandits failed to invade a major military base in
Maguindanao after soldiers took one step ahead of the lawless group's plot,
army officials said on Monday.
About 50 heavily armed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
(BIFF) on Sunday night harassed government forces but quickly fled when
soldiers, who have obtained advance information on the group's attempt, traded
shots with the gunmen at 8 p.m. Sunday in the village of Kabpangi
1Lt. Emmanuel Ferrer, Mechanized Army team leader, told
reporters they received intelligence information about the impending attack.
Villagers also reported the presence of BIFF bandits in Barangay Kabpangi.
Before they could strike at the base, the soldiers, backed
by armored personnel carriers, went to Kabpingi only to receive gunfire from
lawless groups.
The BIFF also lobbed hand grenades towards the military
hardware.
A 30-minute firefight ensued until the bandits, led by
Commander Kagi Tatang, fled to the marshland.
Lt. Colonel Warlito Limet, 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade
chief, said there were no casualties from the government side during the
firefight. He could not confirm whether or not the attackers sustained
casualties.
Ferrer said his men tried to chase the attackers along the
sides of a narrow cemented highway but retreated for fear of booby traps that
could have been left by the attackers.
At past 7 a.m. Monday, government forces found an improvised
bomb with a rope tied to a small tree during their clearing operations in the
encounter site. The IED could have exploded had pursuing soldiers stepped on
the rope, Ferrer said.
Bomb experts defused the IED on Monday morning.
Limet said prior to the attacks, Army intelligence agents
learned of an impending harassment by BIFF in the so called “SPMS box,” a
military term for the adjoining towns of Shariff Aguak, Pagatin (Datu Saudi),
Mamasapano and Shariff Saydona, a known bailiwick of the BIFF where government
forces have detachments, command posts and checkpoints.
At present, soldiers remain on heightened alert, expecting
more attacks from BIFF.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=847671
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