Bomb defused in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO—Government forces said they have foiled an alleged attempt by suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) to sabotage a military-led medical outreach program in Maguindanao on Friday.

Col. Prudencio Asto, of the 6th Infantry Division, said an improvised explosive device fashioned from a 60-millimeter mortar, with a mobile phone as trigger mechanism, was planted on a part of the highway in Datu Saudi, Ampatuan town, where an Army medical and dental team was to pass on its way to Barangay Kitapok in the town.

He said civilians informed authorities about a plastic bag abandoned by the roadside. Asto said Army and police bomb experts had defused the bomb.

The BIFF, a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has been staging attacks against government positions in Maguindanao. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao