Army continues artillery fire vs. BIFF in North Cotabato

PIKIT, North Cotabato -The Army in North Cotabato continued to pound mortars in areas believed to be territories of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in remote villages in Pikit, North Cotabato and in Pagalungan, Maguindanao. This as the BIFF rebels torched at least 20 houses owned by Moro civilians in Barangay Kabasalan, also in Pikit, while they were on the run, according to reports from Senior Superintendent Danny Peralta, provincial director of the Cotabato Police Provincial Office (CPPO). Peralta said the Army’s 7thInfantry Battalion spearheaded the mortar shelling which was aimed at driving the BIFF rebels away from the national highway in Pikit. The rebels, based on the police and military intelligence monitoring, are sighted at Sitio Balibid, Barangay Bulol in Pikit, which is near the Rio Grande de Mindanao. The Army, according to Peralta, has started to pound mortars on BIFF’s lairs since Saturday morning when they sighted the rebels massing in Barangay Bulol. They again pounded mortars towards the rebels’ directions on Sunday, reports said. Actually, the BIFF rebels started encroaching MILF’s territory on February 17, in particular at Sitio Balibid, Barangay Bulol.Then they spread to barangays Kabasalan until Buliok,” said Peralta. The mortar shelling has prevented the BIFF rebels from getting near Pikit town center, the police officer said.