2 gunmen die in Sultan Kudarat Army operation

COTABATO CITY— Soldiers shot dead two gunmen from a group that attacked them while on their way to a secluded area in Barangay Lagandang in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat to pacify two feuding Moro factions in a peacebuilding mission that went awry on Monday.

Major Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Wednesday that personnel of the 7th Infantry Battalion and policemen who figured in the encounter were out to disengage rival members of the Moro National Liberation Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front locked in a “rido,” or clan war affecting innocent villagers.

Lt. Col. Tristan Rey Vallescas, 7th IB’s commanding officer, stated in a report on Tuesday to Nafarrete that the team dispatched to the area for the peacekeeping mission had no way but return fire when they were attacked, killing two of their attackers in the ensuing gunfight.

Nafarrete said soldiers and policemen found two bolt-action Barrett sniper rifles, two M16 assault rifles, an M60 machinegun, a .22 caliber hunting rifle, 40 millimeter grenade launcher, B40 anti-tank rockets and a 60 millimeter mortar in the scene of the encounter, abandoned by the armed group that scampered away as Army reinforcements were closing in.