MILF battles IS-linked BIFF

From The Standard (Aug 4): MILF battles IS-linked BIFF

FORCES of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Maguindanao clashed Wednesday with a breakaway faction of Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters which had allied itself with the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Initial reports by authorities said the MILF’s 118th Base Command under Ustadz Abdulwahid Tundok intercepted some 200 BIFF-ISIS men, all wearing black under Abu Torrette in Barangay Pusaw, Shariff Saidona Mustapha, Maguindanao.

Maj. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, Commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao, said a defense cooperation mechanism had been in place involving state security forces and the local MILF base commands against extremists in Moro communities.

President Rodrigo Duterte met with senators on the same day, and said he had shared with the lawmakers matters of national security concerns.

One senator said the security concerns the Chief Executive raised during the meeting included information that the extremists had plotted anew to attack three more target places which were not identified.

Key population centers not far from the clash area are Tacurong City and Isulan town, both in Sultan Kudarat, Buluan town in Maguindanao, and Cotabato City.

“We wanted to prevent [this ISIS-inspired] BIFF [faction] from initiating terroristic actions against peaceful communities,” Dela Vega said in a press statement.

In his statement, Dela Vega acknowledged the encounter as one resulting from the “MILF leadership’s commitment” to help quell the “consolidation of Daesh-Inspired group(s).”

Meanwhile, an unidentified philanthropist from the business sector has donated P1 million to each of the families of fallen soldiers in Marawi, with the military in the final stretch of battle to defeat the Maute and Abu Sayyaf with some foreign ISIS fighters, Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año said Thursday.

‘‘The support from the entire nation is overwhelming. Donors are willing to give money and donations. In fact, a businessman gave a million each for the family of the fallen soldiers,” Año disclosed to the troops during his visit Wednesday at the battle ground.

MILF chairman Hadji Ibrahim Murad told a recent gathering of officials in Malacañang that the Daesh-inspired extremist groups wanted to sabotage the peace process and “change the narrative of the Moro struggle for self-determination.”

Military reports said the MILF troops belonged to the 118th Base Command under Abdul Karim Sinumagad, and 105th Base Command led by Hadjie Ali Omar, against the BIFF group of Ismael Abdul Malik alias Abu Toraype.

Civilians seeking safe refuge in nearby Datu Salibo town said Tundok’s MILF men blocked the local ISIS men, triggering the firefight that initially resulted in casualties on both sides.

Some local authorities have expressed fears the BIFF-ISIS Abu Toraype was growing in size, following its alleged receipt of huge funds for firearms and mobility, purportedly from their Maute allies in Lanao Sur.

Abu Toraype’s group reportedly broke away from the BIFF founded by the late Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato, and pledged allegiance online to the foreign masked extremists’ ISIS.

Dela Vega said the wounding of the two MILF members in action showed their leadership’s “commitment of support to the ongoing peace process with the government.”

One of the things Ano promised to the soldiers was the issuance of the personal Glock automatic pistol and force protection equipment for “a job well done.”

He extolled the soldiers’ bravery and heroic deeds and soon as the battle against the terrorists and Marawi was liberated each of them would receive appropriate recognition.

Despite some criticisms of operational blunders that resulted in some unexpected casualties on the side of the government, Ano showed no regrets and told the soldiers their commander-in-chief, President Duterte, “has full confidence” in the military.

‘‘I am happy that we have the best officers and enlisted personnel who are fighting the terrorists. Stay safe, be bold, and daring, but be extra cautious. I want everyone to be alive when we finish this,” he said.

Western Mindanao Command commander Lt. Gen. General Carlito Galvez Jr. said all the soldiers needed was to see their commander-in-chief and chief of staff in “high spirits” to sustain the morale of the troops on the ground.

‘‘It is very rare that the head of our organization would risk his life and come to the battlefield in order to meet and motivate personally his officers and soldiers,” he said.

‘‘We are all in high spirits,” he added.

http://thestandard.com.ph/news/top-stories/243590/milf-battles-is-linked-biff.html