5 soldiers injured in roadside bombing in Maguindanao

Datu Unsay (outlined in red) in Maguindanao (Image from Google Maps)

CAMP SK PENDATUN, Maguindanao – Five soldiers, including a junior officer, were injured in a roadside bombing in Datu Unsay, Maguidanao on Sunday morning, the police said.

A KM-150 military truck was approaching the bridge in Barangay Meta in Datu Unsay when the explosion took place around 7:30 a.m., according to Chief Supt. Graciano Mijares, chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Police Regional Office.

Injured were 1st Lt. Jano Cyril Reyes and four other soldiers from the 57th Infantry Battalion, who were identified as Privates First Class Maguncia, Purol and Crispo – the truck driver, and Private Ramirez.

Mijares said the blast site was about 800 meters from the Alpha Company detachment of the 57th IB.

The injured soldiers were confined at the Maguindanao Provincial Hospital in Shariff Aguak town.

Abu Misry Mama, speaking for the Islamic State-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), said his group was behind the roadside bombing.

“Of course we did it,” Mama told the Inquirer, adding that it was in retaliation for the series of offensives the Army had launched against his group in the towns of Datu Salibo, Datu Unsay and Datu Saudi Ampatuan in the past weeks.

Operations against the BIFF have been going on and off since December. The BIFF has also intensified its attacks against soldiers and civilians, particularly members of the Teduray minority in Maguindanao.