Part of Cotabato road closed as soldiers, BIFF clash
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COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The military has closed portions of the Cotabato-General Santos highway after suspected members the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters fired at a passing oil tanker in Guindulunag town in Maguindanao at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Colonel Dickson Hermoro, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division, said nobody was hurt in the road attack in Barangay (village) Bagan.
About 30 BIFF were sighted massing up a few meters away from the highway, but Hermoso said government troops were in the area.
“We are clearing the highway,” he said.
The incident in Bagan happened after BIFF men attacked villages in Midsayap, North Cotabato, at daybreak Monday.
A farmer was reportedly killed in the attacks.
Few families living along the highway in the villages of Macasampen and Bagan have fled to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Elements of 68th Infantry Battalion, backed by armored personnel carriers, are clearing the road network from possible improvised explosives left by the BIFF rebels, Hermoso said.
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