MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – Three suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were killed while a soldier was wounded in an encounter in Shariff Saidona town Sunday.
The encounter caused panic among villagers, who have yet to recover from being displaced from their homes due to earlier clashes.
The encounter occurred when BIFF bandits surrounded a command post of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) in Barangay Ganta and fired anti-tank rockets and assault rifles on bunkers and sleeping quarters of soldiers.
The soldiers inside the camp returned fire, preventing the bandits from closing in.
Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman for the 6th ID, said a soldier was wounded in the initial exchange of gunfire. “The soldier was just slightly wounded and has returned to duty after receiving first aid,†Hermoso said.
He said the bandits retreated after the soldiers started firing 40mm grenades and 60mm mortar projectiles. He said bloodstains were found along the bandits’ escape route.
Hermoso said they received reports from residents and barangay leaders that they saw the bandits carrying the bodies of three of their companions. – With Jaime Laude