SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao—Two soldiers were slightly injured in a clash with suspected Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on the borders of two Maguindanao towns early Friday morning, the Army said.
Capt. Arvin John Encinas, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, said a team of soldiers under the 40th Infantry Battalion was conducting security patrol in Barangay (village) Timbangan, Shariff Aguak town and Barangay Nabundas, Shariff Saydona town at 6 a.m. when they noticed several men acting suspiciously a few meters away. The villages were adjacent to each other and serve as borders for the two towns.
“It appeared the armed men were laying down an improvised bomb,” Encinas told the Inquirer. “When accosted, the suspects opened fire on our troops and prematurely set off the IED,” he added.
A 20-minute firefight followed that injured two soldiers.
Encinas would not say if the suspects suffered injuries or fatalities. “Our troops are pursuing them,” he said.
Encinas said the highway linking Cotabato City-Maguindanao-Sultan Kudarat remained passable as the encounter site was five kilometers away.
It was the latest of incidents involving the BIFF in Maguindanao this week.
At 7:45 a.m. Thursday, a roadside bomb went off along the national highway in Barangay Labu-Labu, Datu Hofer, Maguindanao that injured Sgt. Michael Mabezza, of the 38th Infantry Battalion and driver of KM-450 Army truck.
READ: Soldier hurt as BIFF sets off roadside bomb in Maguindanao
On Tuesday night, an IED exploded at the gate of Talayan town hall, also in Maguindanao followed by the discovery of a powerful IED under Tamontaka Bridge in Cotabato City. On Monday morning, Army bomb experts detonated an IED in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
Abu Misri Mama, speaking for the BIFF, admitted his group was involved in Friday’s skirmishes but denied they had a hand in other bombing incidents in Maguindanao this week. “Hindi lahat involved kami, konti lang (We have no hand in other incidents, only a few),” he said in a phone interview./rga