From the Manila Times (Jul 29, 2022): BARMM braces for terror attacks (By Franz R. Sumangil)
AUTHORITIES in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are on high alert against two local terror groups after nine bombmakers were slain in clashes with government troops since January this year.About a hundred members of outlawed groups Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) have also surrendered in separate occasions since November 2021 with the help of the Army's 6th Infantry Division (6ID) and the BARMM's Police Regional Office.
Maj. Gen. Roberto Capulong, commander of the 6ID, on Wednesday said they have intensified their intelligence efforts to secure the surrender of more hardcore BIFF and DI members.
"It's better for them to come out now and return to mainstream society before it is too late," Capulong also said.
Last week, three members of the BIFF were killed for attempting to seize a detachment camp of the Army's 33rd Infantry Battalion in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao.
READ: 3 NPA rebels killed in Sultan Kudarat clash
The 30 government troops in the detachment successfully fended off the rebels who numbered 80, forcing them to retreat with three dead and seven wounded comrades after an eight-hour gunfight.
Local officials had told reporters the attack was meant to disprove public perception that the BIFF and the DI have been weakened by the deaths of 16 senior leaders and nine bombmakers from both sides in clashes with units of the 6ID in the past 18 months.
Capulong said officials of their units in the adjoining North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces are trying their best to reach out, with the help of local executives, to hardcore BIFF and DI members to convince them to avail of the division's local reconciliation program for religious extremists.
"We are trying to let them realize that it is better to thrive in peace with their families than become frequent targets of government anti-terror operations," he added.
READ: Military, police move to quake-hit areas for search, rescue operations
Capulong and the police director of the Bangsamoro region, BGen. Arthur Cabalona, also on Wednesday separately said their units in Maguindanao and in parts of Lanao del Sur are guarding tightly against possible attacks by the allies of BIFF and DI.
"This time we have the support of local government units in restraining them from moving around," he said.
READ: 5 BIFF members yield in North Cotabato townThe 30 government troops in the detachment successfully fended off the rebels who numbered 80, forcing them to retreat with three dead and seven wounded comrades after an eight-hour gunfight.
Local officials had told reporters the attack was meant to disprove public perception that the BIFF and the DI have been weakened by the deaths of 16 senior leaders and nine bombmakers from both sides in clashes with units of the 6ID in the past 18 months.
Capulong said officials of their units in the adjoining North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces are trying their best to reach out, with the help of local executives, to hardcore BIFF and DI members to convince them to avail of the division's local reconciliation program for religious extremists.
"We are trying to let them realize that it is better to thrive in peace with their families than become frequent targets of government anti-terror operations," he added.
READ: Military, police move to quake-hit areas for search, rescue operations
Capulong and the police director of the Bangsamoro region, BGen. Arthur Cabalona, also on Wednesday separately said their units in Maguindanao and in parts of Lanao del Sur are guarding tightly against possible attacks by the allies of BIFF and DI.
"This time we have the support of local government units in restraining them from moving around," he said.
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