PUBLIC
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – Four soldiers were killed while
five others were hurt in firefights with Moro bandits at the tri-boundary of
Maguindanao’s adjoining towns of Mamasapano, Datu Piang and Shariff Saidona
that started late Saturday and continued until noon yesterday.
Local officials, among them senior members of the municipal
peace and order councils in the three towns, confirmed that three of the slain
soldiers belonged to the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion (IB), while one soldier
was executive officer of the 6th Scout Ranger Company.
They were killed in a series of gunfights with members of
the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) led by Mohamad Tambako.
Five other combatants of the 33rd IB were wounded in the
firefights.
The firefights reportedly escalated after soldiers killed
more than 10 BIFF gunmen under the groups of Tambako and Commander Bongos, who
hails from Datu Saudi town, in encounters several hours before.
Soldiers had also killed four BIFF gunmen in another
encounter Saturday morning in Barangay Pusao in Mamasapano.
“They have surrounded the BIFF in an area at the boundary of
Mamasapano and Datu Piang that’s why they had no choice but to fight. They
cannot escape anymore,” a town councilor said.
Read more:
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/03/09/1431535/4-soldiers-slain-biff-clashes#ixzz3Tprof3Xc
Field report source: 16 BIFF killed, 4 AFP and one Capt. from the 6th Scout Ranger...
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