COTABATO CITY – Four Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters conducting anti-narcotics operations were killed during an encounter with a large number of alleged drug traffickers in two villages of Balindong, Lanao del Sur recently.
Sources said the running firefight, which erupted Saturday between the group of Northwest Front Commander Abdurahman “Bravo” Macapaar and armed followers of an elected official in the villages Debarosan and Buluan in Balindong town also led to the wounding of three more MILF fighters.
MILF former peace panelist Robert Maulana A. Marohombsar said both groups were still trading shots on Saturday, saying that casualties from the “large armed group of drug traffickers” were still unknown.
“As of this time, MILF forces have surrounded Bualan, even as the IMT (International Monitoring Team) and other peace bodies have trekked to the area of conflict to forge a truce,” said Marohombsar.
Marohombsar said one of the confirmed fatalities was a son of Lanao-based MILF 2nd Vice Chair Aleem Solaiman Pangalian. (Ali G. Macabalang)