BIFF’s hand seen in Maguindanao bombing

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters was behind the bombing in Datu Piang, Maguindanao on Saturday that hurt eight people and caused panic among residents, local authorities said.

The BIFF, operating in the fashion of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and with a reputation for bombing establishments and public conveyances if owners refuse to shell out "protection money", has been accused of involvement in all deadly bombings in central Mindanao since 2013.

Eight Datu Piang residents — Norodin Musa, 21; Fahad Tato, 22; Samsudin Kadtugan, 21; Benzar Macogay, 24 ; Amid Miparanun, 19; Carlo Mobpon, 25; Wanti Mohamad, 21; and the 13-year-old Tukoy Abo — got hurt in the explosion.

They were in a covered court in the town center of Datu Piang when an explosive went off at one side of the facility.

The explosion triggered panic among local residents, no stranger to harassments by the BIFF.

The BIFF is led by religious extremists, among them Abu Toraife, Kagui Karialan and Imam Bongos, each facing more than 30 criminal cases in different courts.

BIFF bandits attacked the police station in Datu Piang in late 2020 and fired at the town's old Catholic chapel before they scampered away as Army reinforcements went to the scene.