2 BIFF men killed, 5 soldiers hurt in Maguindanao clashes

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 21): 2 BIFF men killed, 5 soldiers hurt in Maguindanao clashes

Two Moro jihadists were killed while five soldiers were hurt in the latest spate of hostilities in Maguindanao, the military said.

In a report released on Friday, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) said two members of the ISIS-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were killed when the Army’s 57th Infantry Battalion fired artillery fire toward Barangay Pagatin 1 in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao, late Thursday afternoon.

Capt. Arvin John Encinas, 6ID spokesman, said that prior to the running gunbattle, five soldiers were hurt when suspected BIFF members tossed a hand grenade before nighttime on the Army’s 57th IB roadside detachment in Barangay Labo-Labo, Shariff Aguak, also in Maguindanao.

The victims, Sgt. Allan Labuyo, Cpl. Ebrahim Meto and Pvts. 1st Class Arnel Aspacio, Fernando Tangara, and John Mark Arroyo, sustained shrapnel wounds in different parts of their body.

Major Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, 6th ID chief, said the grenade attack was to avenge the death of two BIFF members, identified as Norolam and Saiden Kasan, during Thursday's 3 p.m. military artillery shelling in Datu Saidona, Maguindanao.

The Army launched the artillery bombardment after local residents alerted the military and government ally, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), about the presence of some 30 BIFF elements in Barangay Pagatin 1.

The slain BIFF members were followers of Esmael Abdulmalik, leader of a faction of the BIFF that pledged allegiance to the ISIS.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1013439