Maguindanao attacks linked to anti-terror ops: Army

COTABATO CITY, BARMM, Philippines — Four attacks against Armed Forces of the Philippines units in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur over the weekend may have been retaliatory actions by Islamic State-inspired militants and other lawless groups following recent government offensives, military and police officials said on Monday. The latest attacks came days after the implementation of the election gun ban in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which took effect on July 16 ahead of the region’s first parliamentary elections on Sept. 14. At around 7 p.m. on Sunday, about 15 armed men opened fire on the detachment of the Army’s 12th Mechanized Company, 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion, in Talitay, Maguindanao del Norte. Government troops returned fire, triggering a 20-minute firefight before the attackers retreated. Almost simultaneously, unidentified men planted an improvised explosive device near a Truck Armored Vehicle of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion assigned to the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion detachment in Barangay Linantangan, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao del Sur. Lt. Col. Ronald Suscano, spokesperson for the Army’s 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division (6ID), said no soldiers were injured in either attack. Maj. Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, commander of the 6ID and Joint Task Force Central, said members of the Islamic State-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were likely behind the assaults. “This is in retaliation for the series of successful military campaigns against local terrorists, including the death of BIFF commander Bungos,” Cagara said. Bungos, whose real name was Esmael Abubakar, was killed during a joint military and police operation in Barangay Calzada, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte, on July 5. Police Brig. Gen. Christopher Abecia, director of the Police Regional Office-BARMM, echoed the military’s assessment, saying the attacks appeared to be acts of vengeance by terrorist and criminal groups targeted in ongoing security operations. “The attacks were in retaliation by lawless groups for the continuing pursuit operations being conducted by the military and police,” Abecia said. Following the attacks, Suscano said all Army units in Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur had been placed on heightened alert. The two incidents on Sunday brought to four the number of attacks against military forces in the Maguindanao provinces since the election gun ban took effect. On Saturday morning, suspects hurled a hand grenade at an Army convoy in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, wounding two soldiers and three civilians. Later that evening, another suspect threw a hand grenade into the detachment of Charlie Company, 7th Infantry Battalion, in Barangay Macaguiling, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte. No one was injured in the blast. Source: Inquirer NewsInfo