2 killed, 4 hurt in clash between MILF and BIFF

COTABATO CITY – Two Moro rebels allied with the government were killed while four others were wounded in an encounter with Islamic State-inspired armed group in Datu Salibo town in Maguindanao over the weekend, police reported on Monday.

Maguindanao police chief Senior Supt. Agustin Tello said the fighting between Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Task Force Ittihad (Unity) and the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), an armed group operating in Maguindanao’s second district that pledge allegiance to ISIS, erupted at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Barangays Tee and Andavit in Datu Salibo.

The slain MILF men were not identified in the report. The injured MILF fighters, meanwhile, were said to be followers of MILF commander Ustsdz Goma.

Tello said the MILF and Datu Salibo PNP could not say how many members of the BIFF were killed in the three-hour clash.

The MILF has been hunting down the IS-inspired group led by Abu Toraife after the terrorist group tried to infiltrate MILF held areas in Maguindanao.

The injured MILF are now confined in a hospital in Cotabato City. Tello said sporadic fighting continues as of posting.

The government and the MILF signed a peace deal in 2014 aimed at ending decades-old Moro problem in southern Philippines.

Under the agreement, the MILF is anticipated to help the government get rid their communities of terrorists and other lawless elements.              /kga