3 BIFF men, 4 soldiers killed in clash

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines  – Three commanders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), one of them wanted for the killing of 44 police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, were killed by soldiers yesterday.

Four Army soldiers, one of them a driver of a military ambulance, were also killed while six others were wounded in the ensuing firefights.

Army officials and local officials identified the slain BIFF commanders as Yusof Abesalih, also known as “Bisaya,” and brothers Norodin and Salahudin Indong.

The Indongs are brothers of a ranking BIFF leader, Imam Karialan, who helped the radical jihadist Ameril Ombra Kato establish the group in June 2010.

Two local officials, who asked not to be identified, had said Bisaya led the group that killed 10 Special Action Force commandos that raided the hideout of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan on Jan. 25.

The BIFF’s spokesman, Abu Misry Mama, had confirmed two days after the incident that their forces had killed 10 SAF operatives while maneuvering out of Barangay Pidsandawan in Mamasapano, after having killed Marwan there in a dawn raid.

Mama said BIFF members even took the 10 policemen’s assault rifles as they repositioned away from the scene after sensing that responding barangay officials and government forces were closing in.

The latest BIFF-military hostilities erupted in Barangay Elian in Datu Saudi town in the second district of Maguindanao, when bandits opened fire on soldiers verifying the reported presence of armed men in the area.

The running encounters intensified when another group of BIFF bandits ambushed an Army ambulance carrying soldiers wounded in the firefights in Barangay Elian, en route to the Camp Siongco Hospital in Datu Odin Sinsuat town, also in Maguindanao.

Military sources and members of the inter-agency municipal peace and order councils in Maguindanao’s adjoining Mamasapano, Datu Piang, Sharif Saidona and Datu Saudi towns, said the hostilities spilled over to Barangay Malangog in Datu Unsay, where soldiers had gunned down the three BIFF leaders.

Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said bandits and soldiers continued trading shots until 7 p.m. yesterday.

Local officials said seven BIFF bandits were wounded in the firefights. Five of the wounded bandits were initially identified as Zamrud, Omar, Maniri, Beduh, and Elias, all adolescents. 

They were seen by barangay folks being carried away from the scene by their companions.