Army foils Maguindanao bombing

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 19): Army foils Maguindanao bombing

Government forces recovered Sunday high powered firearms and bomb making devices following a brief clash with private armed groups suspected of carrying out bombing activities in Maguindanao and nearby provinces.

Colonel Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Army's 601st Infantry Brigade based in Tacurong City, said elements of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade and 601st brigade conducted verification mission in a remote village in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao following reports of the presence of armed men in the area.

As the joint forces of two Army brigades were entering the village of Kauran, they were fired upon by about 20 heavily armed men, triggering a brief firefight until the armed groups fled deep into the forest.

No casualty on the government side and Sobejana believed the armed groups suffered injuries as there were blood in their escape route.

Sobejana believed the armed group belonged to the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Government forces recovered a sub-machine gun, assorted rifles and grenade launchers and ammunition. Soldiers also recovered improvised bomb making ingredients.

The huge cache of firearms indicate the group was well armed and well organized and suspected to be behind the rash of bombings in Maguindanao.

In Datu Unsay, Maguindanao, government forces also found and safely deactivated three IED near an Army outpost in Barangay Meta on Saturday night.

Sobejana believed the IED was intended for the military who maintains a roadside Army base.

Witnesses said three men on board a motorbike were seen passing by, briefly stopped, then fled to Datu Saudi Ampatuan, also in Maguindanao.

The IEDs were similar to improvised explosives used by the BIFF in attacking government forces in Maguindanao.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=924133