DATU SALIBO, Maguindanao – The town
treasurer of this town, his son and two others were killed when suspected
lawless group set off a roadside improvised bomb in a Maguindanao highway
Tuesday night, the military here said.
Killed on
the spot where Norodin Macabangen, municipal treasurer of Datu Salibo
treasurer, his son Kenneth “Kenken” Macabangen, Alex Alpas and Bensar Agapay.
Lt. Colonel
Warlito Limet, 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion commander, said the
victims were on board a Mitsubushi Delica van with license plate RDX-928
heading toward Datu Salibo town proper when the IED fashioned from 81 mn mortar
and mobile phone as triggering device went off at 10:30 p.m.
Limet said
the Macabangen and five other van passengers decided to return to Datu Saudi
Ampatuan because of intense fighting between government forces and Bangsamoro
Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Barangay Tee and Barangay Sambolawan, all in
Datu Salibo.
“They were
heading back to Datu Saudi Ampatuan when the explosion occurred and hit the
passing van,” Limet said, adding two others were rushed by soldiers to the
Cotabato Regional Medical Center.
“Akala
masiguro ng mga suspect na yong sasakyan ay s military kasi itim din (Maybe the
vehicle was mistaken as military truck),” Senior Insp. Abdulbasit Kulot, Datu
Saudi Ampatuan town police chief.
Limet said
the bombing was part of the skirmishes between lawless group and government
forces in Datu Salibo. “The IED could be meant for military vehicles,” he said.
“Unfortunately, civilians were killed.”
At 1 a.m.
Tuesday. About 50 BIFF fighters harassed the Army detachments in Barangay Tee
and Barangay Sambolawan, both in Datu Salibo, which led to early morning fire
fight.
Two MG-520
attack helicopters pounded the BIFF for about an hour as the fighting
intensified, Capt. Joann Petinglay, 6th Infantry Division
spokesperson. Petinglay said the number of BIFF was rising as there were
reinforcements from nearby towns.
She could
not stay how many BIFF were killed or injured in the air strikes and ground
attacks..
Petinglay
admitted government forces suffered one killed in action and six injured,
including an Army company commander.
On February
5, the BIFF attacked a government dredging project in Barangay Butalo, Datu
Salibo, Maguindanao. Since then, sporadic skirmishes had been on-going.
“We cannot
understand why the BIFF was against a development project that will protect the
people of Datu Salibo, including the BIFF from floods when rainy season comes,”
Petinglay said.
BIFF
spokesperson Abu Misri Mama said five soldiers were killed Tuesday and three armored
personnel carriers (APCs) were destroyed and disabled, a claim denied by Petinglay.
“Three APCs
were hit but not destroyed, our troops are still using these military vehicles,”
Petinglay said. We have no casualty on Tuesday,” she added.
The
two-week sporadic skirmishes between
forces and BIFF have also displaced more than 2,500 families in Datu Salibo’s
five adjoining villages where the fighting was concentrated. By: Gemma Roda
No comments:
Post a Comment