Soldier hurt by BIFF roadside bomb in Maguindanao town

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines -- A soldier was hurt when bandits detonated a roadside bomb early Tuesday to prevent an Army patrol from getting close to a village whose residents they extort money from.

The wounded combatant of the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion, who sustained shrapnel wounds when members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters set off an improvised explosive device along a road in Barangay Meta in Datu Unsay town, is now in a hospital.

Datu Unsay, an impoverished town, is located in the second district of Maguindanao.

“There are continuing community patrols by soldiers in the area to maintain tranquility there, particularly this time when peace is needed to ensure an undisrupted observance of the Ramadhan by local folks,” said Capt. Joann Petinglay, spokesperson of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Petinglay said the injured soldier is now out of danger.

Officers of the 34th IB said they were surprised by the bombing at a time when BIFF leaders and members are observing the Ramadhan fasting season.

Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during the Ramadhan, which lasts for one lunar cycle, and focus on good deeds and charitable acts as atonement for sins and as a religious obligation.

Warfare is strictly prohibited during the Ramadhan, regarded by Muslims as a holy month, during which they reach out and reconcile with adversaries.