2 landmines found near Camp Abubakar

COTABATO CITY — Army bomb experts safely deactivated early yesterday two powerful landmines planted by suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels on a farm-to-market road near Camp Abubakar, the front’s former enclave in Maguindanao.

Supposedly covered by the ceasefire, Camp Abubakar is now a peace zone guarded by a brigade of Army soldiers.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu denied insinuations by officials of Barira town, a gateway to Camp Abubakar, that disgruntled rebels identified with a faction of hardliners in the front, planted the landmines on the road.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said their intelligence units were gathering information on those who planted the landmines, fashioned from live 60-mm mortar shells rigged with trip wires and attached to pressure-driven detonating mechanisms.

"We are not accusing any group yet because we are still gathering information on the identities of the people who planted the bombs," he said.

Ando said patrolling soldiers found the landmines less than 24 hours after the 6th ID’s commander, Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, had toured Camp Abubakar.

As ordnance experts were defusing the landmines, a group of rebels led by a certain Abu Rushda attacked a command post of the Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Kuloy, Shariff Aguak town.

Ando said the rebels surrounded the command base of the 64th IB’s Bravo Company and then opened fire with automatic weapons and shoulder-fired 40-mm grenade projectiles.

Soldiers manning the command base managed to return fire, forcing the rebels to withdraw after a 30-minute firefight.

Shariff Aguak was the scene of fierce clashes between MILF rebels and pro-government militiamen last June. — John Unson