Muslim rebel killed, 13 hurt in blast

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — A Moro rebel commander was killed while 13 of his men were injured when one of them accidentally blasted a B-40 anti-tank rocket while they were marching toward a supposedly demilitarized stretch of the Cotabato-Isulan Highway in Talayan, Maguindanao the other day, the military said.

Capt. Onting Alon, deputy civil relations officer of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the rebel leader, Bashier Bolantao, and his men, together with another band of guerrillas led by one Commander Felma, were on their way to the farming village of Bagan when the mishap happened.

"They were so unfortunate. We don’t know why they were heading toward the highway which was off-limits to forces of the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front)," Alon said.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu confirmed that one of their men was indeed killed and 13 other guerrillas were injured in the explosion.

But he told the Catholic radio station dxMS that what went off was a landmine which soldiers probably planted in the area. — John Unson