Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, Army chief, and Brig. Gen. Oriel Pangcog, 601st Brigade commander. (Photos from the Facebook accounts of, respectively, the Philippine Army and the 6th Infantry Division)
DATU HOFFER, Maguindanao del Sur, Philippines — Three Army troopers belonging to the 40th Infantry Battalion (IB) and one soldier of the 3rd Cavalry under the 601st Infantry Brigade were killed in an ambush by militants in this town on Sunday morning.
Brig. Gen. Oriel Pangcog, 601st Brigade commander, told the Inquirer that the victims, all enlisted soldiers, had just bought food and office supplies in the town proper at about 9 a.m. when the attack occurred.
They were already on their way back to the 40th IB patrol base in Sitio Bagurot, Barangay Mother Tuayan, when the assailants ambushed them along the road in the village of Tuayan 1, only about 1 or 2 kilometers away.
Pangcog did not reveal the names of the soldiers who died as the military still had yet to inform their families.
The bodies, however, are now at the 6th Infantry Division (ID) headquarters in Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte.
“We can’t name them for now because we need to inform their families first,” Pangcog said.
Ambush was retaliatory attack?
He added that the extremist group Daulah Islamiyah could have carried out the ambush in retaliation for the military operation on Dec. 2, 2023, that claimed the lives of 11 of its members.
“We had great accomplishments in December last year when several Daulah Islamiyah members were killed and neutralized; so, it could be that they were behind this ambush,” Pangcog said, referring to the military’s operation in the mountainous part of Mother Tuayan in Datu Hoffer.
In a separate statement, the Philippine Army denounced the “ruthless ambush” carried out by suspected members of the Daulah Islamiyah extremist group.
“This incident only strengthens our resolve to eradicate this terrorist group from our land once and for all,” Army chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said, as he condemned the “senseless, treacherous and most heinous acts perpetrated by this terrorist group.”
“We also stand in solidarity with the families of our four fallen heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Appropriate benefits and assistance will be provided to their families to help them during this trying time,” he added.
Galido said the Army was working closely with local authorities and community leaders “to ensure that security measures in the area are sustained.”
“The Army is committed to ensuring that the perpetrators face the full consequences of their actions and that justice will be served for the victims and their families,” he said.
Food for fasting Muslims
The 6th ID also condemned the attack.
Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera, commander of the 6th Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Central, said the food bought by the troopers from the public market had been intended for the iftar, or the meal taken by Muslims to break their fast after sunset every day during Ramadan.
READ: 4 Army troopers killed in Maguindanao del Sur ambush
The military has been giving out iftar for free to Muslim civilian communities as part of its regular community service during the fasting month.
“We condemn in the strongest term the brutal killing of our troops,” Rillera said.