18 soldiers wounded in BIFF clashes in South

COTABATO CITY – Over a dozen soldiers were wounded in a series of clashes with pro-ISIS fighters in the restive Muslim province of Maguindanao in southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.

Military photos released to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner show  Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the Western Midnanao Command, visiting wounded soldiers - on behalf of President Rodrigo Duterte - on Saturday at the 6^th Infantry Division in Maguindanao’s Datu Odin Sinsuat town and handed them financial aid, gun certificates and cell phones. 

Officials said troops were battling members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces in Maguindanao, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the Western Midnanao Command, visited the wounded soldiers on behalf of President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday at the 6^th Infantry Division in Maguindanao’s Datu Odin Sinsuat town and handed them financial aid, gun certificates and cell phones.

“We should take care of our soldiers because those left behind can have no peace after suffering   distress,” Sobejana said.

Duterte was not able to visit the soldiers for a still unknown reason, but the President - who is in Manila - ordered a lockdown on the National Capital Region following the outbreak of the deadly new coronavirus disease.

 Recovered improvised explosive and personal belongings left behind by fleeing militants. Three bodies of gunmen were also found in the village of Salman in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province on March 13, 2020.

Sobejana said three bodies of gunmen, including a land mine, were also recovered by soldiers in in the village of Salman in Ampatuan town on Friday. “The recovery of the bodies indicate substantial gains and weakening of the enemy’s manpower and capability,” he said.

He said security forces were continuing with the operations against the BIFF, whose leaders pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, or ISIS.

“Rest assured, we will continue with our focused operations to penetrate BIFF lairs and totally eradicate their remaining members, for the people of Central Mindanao to savor lasting peace and sustainable development,” Sobejana said. (Mindanao Examiner)

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