2 soldiers hurt as BIFF harasses Maguindanao Army base

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao -- Two soldiers were wounded when bandits attacked on Tuesday night a roadside detachment of an Army mechanized unit in Maguindanao’s Datu Piang town.Local officials said members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters crawled near the fenced encampment of the 22ndMechanized Company in Barangay Magaslong southwest of Datu Piang and opened fire with assault rifles and shoulder-fire anti-tank rockets, provoking a brief firefight.The BIFF gunmen immediately retreated to a nearby marsh southeast of Datu Piang when the soldiers returned fire with M-60 machineguns and 40 millimeter grenade projectiles.Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, spokesperson of the Army’s 6thInfantry Division, said two soldiers were wounded in the incident, now confined in a hospital.Barangay folks reported seeing four wounded BIFF members being carried away by their companions as they fled in haste.Petinglay said they have been receiving reports on BIFF casualties from local informants, but could not independently confirm the reported enemy loses.BIFF bandits and military units have been trading shots in one encounter after another in the tri-boundaries of Maguindanao’s adjoining Datu Piang, Datu Salibo and Datu Saudi towns since January.