8 Moro insurgents dead after clash in Maguindanao

From the Manila Bulletin (Jul 30): 8 Moro insurgents dead after clash in Maguindanao

Eight rogue Moro insurgents were killed and five were wounded during clashes with government forces as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) launched a new series of attacks in Maguindanao early Tuesday morning, the military said.

6th Infantry Division (6ID) commander, Maj. Gen. Romeo Gapuz confirmed this, saying that aside from the eight slain from the enemy side, troops also recovered two firearms, two improvised explosive device (IED), and one radio.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office (PAO) Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala earlier said the first attack occurred around 4:10 when some 100 BIFF men harassed an Army detachment in Datu Piang town.

Zagala said government troops immediately retaliated. As the soldiers pursued the enemy, authorities temporarily closed the National Road in the area to prevent civilians from getting caught in the crossfire.

6th Infantry Division (6ID) spokesman, Col. Dickson Hermoso, on the other hand, said that at around 5:20 a.m. another group of BIFF men strafed a passing oil tanker at Barangay Bagan in Guindolongan town.

The driver and crew of the oil tanker managed to seek refuge at a CAFGU detachment while soldiers from the 45IB launched pursuit operations against the rogue Moro insurgents all the way to Barangay Pendililang in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.

As pursuit operation was on-going, soldiers from the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion and EOD Team diffused an improvised bomb along the highway just about 300 meters away from a CAFGU detachment in Barangay Macasampen around 10:00 a.m.

Hermoso said at about 11:30 a.m., the Bagan-Macasampen stretch of the highway was finally cleared of IEDs laid down by the rogue Moro insurgents.

As of press time, Gapuz said the situation in the province has normalized and the National Road already open to traffic.

Zagala, for his part, said: "We cannot let this harassment go unanswered, we have to show the firm resolve of the AFP by conducting combat operations against the perpetrators."

He added the latest atrocities by the rogue Moro rebels is a clear indication that threat groups in the area are trying to derail the government's peace initiative with the MILF.

"They will continue such actions to further disrupt the peace talks," he further stated.

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