13 gov’t troops wounded in clash with BIFF

MANILA, Philippines - A combat helicopter pilot and 12 other soldiers were among the wounded in last Friday’s fighting between government troops and  Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao, the military reported yesterday.

The military also reported 14 BIFF rebels were killed and 13 others wounded during the gunfight with troops from the Army’s 6th Scout Ranger Company and 61st Division Reconnaissance Company in Barangay Tee, Datu Salibu town.

BIFF founder Ameril Umbra Kato was earlier sighted in the area but was no longer around when the troops overtook the place after hours of heavy fighting.

“We have 13 wounded, including a Huey pilot who heroically provided close air support (to the ground troops),” Armed Forces Public Affairs Office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said.

Troops from the Marine Force Recon, on the other hand, captured two BIFF strongholds in Barangays Dabunayan and Liab, all in Datu Piang later in the afternoon Friday.

The two BIFF hideouts were found by the military with the help of community elders, some of them identified with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The troops found ammunition for assorted firearms, materials for fabricating roadside bombs and schematic diagrams for electrical circuits of blasting devices for improvised explosives.

The Marines also captured four BIFF rebels identified as Aladin Panaydanm, Daud Balogat, Ebrahim Oraw and Abdul Madalidaw.

The troops seized from the four rebels a Thompson submachine gun, a .45 caliber pistol, 40 mm shoulder-fired grenades and devices used in setting off roadside bombs.

The BIFF, however, retaliated by attacking the troops in separate encounters, leaving nine soldiers wounded.

Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala, AFP spokesman and commander the AFP Civil Relation Service, said the theater of operations is focused in the areas of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Talayan and Guindulungan towns, where the BIFF are known to have established several camps.

“Firefight is still ongoing until this time,” Kakilala said.

On Friday evening, the BIFF ambushed an Army ambulance in Barangay Lower Salbo, Datu Saudi Ampatuan. Two soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The ongoing military offensives against the BIFF in Central Mindanao, however, has displaced thousands of civilians.

The number of civilians affected by the military offensives in the area has reached 16,111 families in 59 barangays, according to the latest reports.

Malacañang, however, gave assurance they were all being attended to by the government.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said 13,261 families were staying in 49 evacuation centers and the Department of Social Welfare and Development had spent P16.6-million worth of relief assistance for the evacuees.

Valte said the efforts of the military to make the “world smaller” for the BIFF rebels were pursued for the sake of lasting peace and development in the south.

Valte said some of the displaced civilians would sometimes seek refuge with their relatives while the others would go to evacuation centers. – With Aurea Calica, John Unson