‘WAYWARD’ BOMB. Blast victim Ali Masla, 62, undergoes treatment at a hospital for a shoulder wound after a suspected wayward bomb projectile hit their home in Sitio Butilin, Barangay Kabasalan, Pikit, North Cotabato on Thursday (July 25, 2019). Masla’s wife, Misba, died in the incident while his 10-year-old grandson was also hurt. (Photo courtesy of Jessie Ali–DXMY Cotabato)
A 60-year-old woman was killed while two others were wounded after a bomb landed on a house in a remote village of Pikit, North Cotabato early Thursday.
The fatality was identified as Misba Masla, 60, of Sitio Butilin, Barangay Kabasalan, Pikit. The village of Kabasalan sits at the border of North Cotabato and Maguindanao provinces that are separated by the vast Pulangi River.
Injured were Ali Masla, 62, the husband of Misba, and their 10-year-old grandson, both of the same village.
Neighbors rushed the injured victims to the Cruzado Medical Hospital at the town center. Misba, on the other hand, died on the spot.
“An explosion occurred near our house at around 3:30 a.m., hurting us in the process,” Ali Masla said in a vernacular in an interview over local radio station DXMY while at his hospital bed.
The incident occurred amid ongoing military artillery and aerial operations in the border of the two provinces, specifically at the so-called “SPMS box” in Maguindanao.
The SPMS box is a military term referring to the adjoining Maguindanao towns of Shariff Aguak-Pagatin (Datu Saudi), Mamasapano, and Datu Salibo situated at the 220,000-hectare Liguasan marshland.
Military officials said the marshland has become a flashpoint for Islamic State-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) activities, where the group reportedly plans their attacks on military and police installations in the two provinces.
In a separate radio interview, Maj. Homer Estolas, Army’s 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, confirmed the existence of an ongoing "surgical operation" against the BIFF in the border of the two provinces. Asked about the Maslas’ case, he said they are yet to launch an investigation over the incident.
“We are targeting terrorist factions of the BIFF massing up in the area and not civilian communities,” he said.
“It is unfortunate to know that there were civilian victims but they are not our targets because we are doing everything to keep the civilian communities safe from harm,” he added. He was unable to say whether the projectile that hit the Maslas came from the military.
Brig. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, the Army’s 602nd Brigade in North Cotabato, said that an investigation is underway to determine if Ali Masla is a BIFF member based on an intelligence report.
Estolas said the 6ID has not set a timeline for the ongoing operation.
“The military action against the BIFF will continue as long as there is a threat to the civilian populace,” he said.
In the past, the BIFF has launched over a dozen bomb attacks in civilian communities in Central Mindanao, particularly in the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and South Cotabato.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1075993
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