Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the firefight erupted when MILF rebels opened fire on military detachments in Barangay Liliongan in Carmen, in what could have been the salvo of their supposed plunder of two neighboring farming villages in the area.
Senga said soldiers managed to repel the guerrillas, led by Commanders Kineg and Taha Amelya, initially killing two of the attackers and wounding at least six others.
Local officials in Carmen said apart from the two MILF unidentified guerrillas that were killed in the first exchange of gunfire, two more rebels, identified only as Moctar and Kamir, later succumbed from their injuries while being carried by their comrades at the boundary of North Cotabato and Bukidnon.
The attack came just two days after the start of the MILF’s declaration of a 10-day unilateral ceasefire which they implemented Monday.
Various sectors in central Mindanao, however, remained skeptical of the MILF’s move, apprehensive that its forces could take advantage of the 10-day truce only to regroup, consolidate and prepare for renewed attacks on vulnerable farming communities.
The MILF had reiterated plans to call a unilateral truce to give the government a chance to resume formal peace talks.
President Arroyo suspended informal peace talks with the MILF following the series of raids and bombings on civilian targets which were blamed on the 12,500-strong rebel group.
The MILF, which has been fighting for over two decades to set up an Islamic state in Mindanao, has denied it engages in terrorism or is linked with terror groups.
Mrs. Arroyo had previously threatened to formally brand the MILF as terrorists if the group did not disavow terrorism by June 1.
The military said they will still continue their offensive against those behind the spate of terror attacks.