Elements of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
(BIFF) tried but failed to overrun a para-military detachment in a remote
village here, police on Saturday said.
Senior Inspector Junete Napat, Aleosan town police chief,
said about 50 suspected BIFF from Datu Salibo, Maguindanao harassed the
detachment of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) at about 8
p.m. by firing assault rifles and rifle grenades.
But the militiamen were prepared and engaged the attackers
in a gun battle that lasted for about two hours until the guerrillas retreated
back to Liguasan marshland.
The militia detachment was one of the many outposts
established by the military to prevent BIFF, now under attack by government
forces in Datu Salibo, from harassing civilian communities in North
Cotabato .
The Rio Grande de Mindnanao served as the borders of
Maguindanao and North Cotabato .
Napat said no casualty was reported on the side of the
militiamen. Paramilitary troopers could not say if the attackers suffered
casualties either.
The morning after, government forces recovered about 100
pieces of empty shells from M-16 Armalite rifle, Garand rifle, fragments of
rifle grenade and empty shells for cal. 50 Barret rifle in an area where the
BIFF positioned, about 100 meters away from the detachment.
Barret rifle is a signature firearm of the BIFF.
It was the second harassment against the Aleosan detachment
this year. Last February 18, BIFF also attacked the CAFGU base.
Capt. Joann Petinglay, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson,
said the harassment on Aleosan detachment was part of the diversionary tactics
of the BIFF which suffered heavy losses during Army offensives in Maguindanao.
"This is part of the terrorists' tactics to ease the
offensives in Datu Salibo," Petinglay said. The military launched attacks
against the BIFF after the outlawed group harassed workers of a government
flood control project in Maguindanao.
Petinglay said the BIFF has resorted to harassment or hit
and run attacks, not only against the military, but other areas in Maguindanao
as well. Aside from Aleosan detachment, on Friday afternoon, BIFF also harassed
and fired at a dump truck owned by the Maguindanao provincial government in a
remote village in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
The dump truck was working on road project in Ampatuan.
Petinglay said military operations against the BIFF in
Maguindanao and nearby areas continue despite the observance of Holy Week.
"Our operations continue, we cannot just leave the area
because suspected IEDs still litter the communities earlier occupied by the
BIFF," she said.
She said soldiers can pause and pray even while they are in
the battle fields.
The armed conflict in Maguindanao started on February 5
after the BIFF prevented workers of a PHP58-million flood control project aimed
at saving villagers from floods every rainy season.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=868254
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.