Army claims 21 BIFF slain in Maguindanao offensives but rebel spokesperson laugh off report
• 17:37 PM Sun Mar 19, 2017
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By:
Edwin O. Fernandez
CAMP SIONGCO,
Maguindanao – The military here today said 21 members of outlawed
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were killed and 26 others were
wounded during the March 13-16 air and ground assaults in two Maguindanao
villages.
But BIFF
spokesperson Abu Misry Mama denied the Army claim, saying the air strikes and
the Army operation yielded nothing.
The bombs
only hit trees and marsh, we were not there when the bombings occurred, we are
not affected, only the civilians were displaced, Mama said in Filipino.
We are
still here and we will get back soon, he added, also denying
international terrorists are in his group.
Capt. Arvin
John Encinas, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division, said five improvised
explosive devices and bomb components were recovered during the three day law
enforcement operations after foreign terrorists were sighted with the local
BIFF forces in the villages of Andavit and Tee in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao.
Brig. Gen.
Arnel dela Vega, 6th ID chief and commander of Joint Task Force Central, said
no casualty was reported on the government side.
He said the
deployment of blocking forces proved effective in preventing the terrorists
from escaping the massive operations.
At 3 a.m.
Saturday, five firearms were recovered following a brief firefight in Barangay
Pidsandawan, Raja Buayan, Maguindanao.
It was not clear if the band of BIFF suffered casualties in that
encounter.
Encinas said
the lawless group were fleeing Datu Salibo and entered an area in Barangay
Pidsandawan where an Army detachment of the 40th Infantry Battalion was
located.
Encinas said
the recovery manuals for IED-making indicate that the slain terrorists are
giving instructions on how to assemble explosive devises and launch bombing
attacks.
No automatic alt text available sand//scontent.fmnl4-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17342765_615682085304939_7825446333261965803_n.jpg?oh=c27202676c56104f2422ce826ade15ceandampoe=5963E62F Dela Vega said
the coordinated air and ground assaults were conducted after Army intelligence
confirmed the presence of Muhammad Ali Bin Abdulrahman, alias Muawiyah, a
foreign terrorist Salahuddin Hassan, a local terrorist and bomber trained by
the latter, and Esmael Abdulmalik, alias Abu Toraype, the Dawlah Islamiyah
Maguindanao founder and a Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF) Brigade
Commander.
No dead bodies
of slain bandits were recovered.
He said validations
are being made on the ground on the persistent reports that these terrorists
were killed.
Encinas said
the group were among those trained by slai international terrorist Zulkifli bin
hir, alias Marwan, who was killed an elite police unit in an operation in
January 2015. The group was believed responsible for the series of bombing
incidents in Mindanao.
He said group
has been conducting training on IED-making of newly recruited members from
different provinces including those from the Lanao del Sur-bsed Maute group
with test missions of blowing NGCP towers and other public places.
These
are commendable operational accomplishments of the Joint Task Force Central
under Brigadier General Arnel Dela Vega, Major General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr.,
Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, said.
With the
recent successful operations, the AFP has dealt a severe blow on the reported
ISIS cell in Central Mindanao. We are also confident that their bomb making
capability was seriously degraded if not negated, Galvez said in a
statement.The Army also partnered with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in an anti-drug operation in Pikit, North Cotabato that netted 11 persons and the recovery of carnapped motorcycles and almost P1.5 million worth of illegal drugs.