Military bolsters security amid BIFF attack

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — The military on Monday tightened security in areas vulnerable to attacks by bandits following Saturday's harassment of an Army detachment in Mamasapano that left three soldiers wounded.

The victims belong to the Army's 34th Infantry Battalion, which has jurisdiction over Mamasapano town in the second district of Maguindanao.

They were inside their roadside detachment in Barangay Linantangan in Mamasapano, which suspected motorcycle-riding members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) fired with assault rifles and shoulder-fire, 40-millimeter grenades.

Police investigators are still trying to establish the exact identities of the bandits responsible for the attack.

Barangay officials said the culprits are henchmen of the BIFF's new figurehead, Imam Bongos.

Bongos assumed the group's leadership following the demise early this year of its founder, Imam Ameril Ombra Kato, after a long bout with complicated illnesses.

Saturday's harassment by the BIFF of an Army detachment in Mamasapano came less than a week after bandits attacked from different directions a military outpost in nearby Barangay Sambulawan in Salibo town, also in Maguindanao.

Two innocent villagers were hurt when BIFF bandits crawled near the detachment of the 21st Mechanized Company of the Army's 2nd Mechanized Battalion in Barangay Sambulawan and opened fire with assault rifles.