by Ali G. Macabalang
KIDAPAWAN City – At least 5 members of the extremist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were killed Tueday following an intense battle with government soldiers in Carmen, North Cotabato, military officials said.
Capt. Arvin Encinas, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the firefight started with the military launching several airstrikes on specific spots at barangay Tunganon in Carmen town about 2 a.m. Tuesday, this, after intelligence reports confirmed the presence of BIFF in the area as led by Kumander Esmael Abdulmalik alias Abu Turaife.
Encinas said the airstrikes killed at least five followers of Abdulmalik but the fierce exchange of bullets that ensued thereafter also resulted in five soldiers getting wounded.
A source from the military intelligence community told Tempo yesterday the fatalities on the terrorists’ side could reach as high as 11.
Citing civilian villagers’ accounts, Encinas said the slain guerrillas were promptly buried by their comrades prior to soldiers conducting ground clearing operations Tuesday noon.
The military operations he said will continue until Abdulmalik and his followers are neutralized or flushed out of Carmen.”
In a statement, Maj. Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, 6ID commander, said: “We are determined to defeat the threat groups and thwart them from doing terroristic activities in Central Mindanao. The continued support and cooperation of the civilian community should remain high.”
Abdulmalik and his followers reportedly went to North Cotabato after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters backed by military troops engaged them in series of clashes three months ago in Maguindanao.
