BIFF bomb-maker killed, 26 IEDs seized in 6th ID anti-terror operation

COTABATO CITY — Soldiers killed a member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and confiscated 26 improvised explosive devices in an air and ground anti-terror offensive in Barangay Butilen, Salibo town in Maguindanao del Sur on Saturday.

Major Gen. Alex Rillera, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Monday that the calibrated anti-terror operation was launched after residents of Barangay Butilen and their municipal officials reported the convergence in the area of BIFF members, as if bracing for an attack.

Soldiers dispatched to clear the area, after the aerial maneuvers by Philippine Air Force attack helicopters and fixed-wing bombers, traded shots with BIFF terrorists at one spot in Barangay Butilen, killing one of them in the ensuing encounter.

Villagers told reporters that the slain BIFF member, who had two names that they believe were fictitious, Ahmed Samsudin and Jivin Ansao, was an expert in fabrication of improvised explosive devices that can be detonated from a distance using mobile phones.

Community leaders said that the companions of the slain BIFF bomb-maker immediately escaped, carrying four wounded companions when they sensed that more soldiers were closing in.

Soldiers found 26 explosives in the makeshift shelters in the scene of the encounter. These are now in the custody of 6th ID's bomb disposal experts.

The BIFF and its ally, the Dawlah Islamiya, both have a reputation for bombing business establishments and passenger vehicles if owners refuse to shell out “protection money” on a monthly basis.