Army officer, 4 others killed in Basilan clash

MANILA, Philippines - A Scout Ranger Company commander and one of his men were killed in an encounter between government troops and the combined forces of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan before noon yesterday.

Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Randolf Cabangbang said four Scout Rangers were wounded in the firefight that broke out at about 11:30 a.m. in Barangay Tongbato, Ungkaya Pukan.

Col. Carlito Galvez, commander of the 104th Infantry Battalion, said three militants including their leader were killed and seven others were wounded in the encounter.

The wounded soldiers were airlifted to the military hospital in this city for treatment.

Cabangbang identified the slain officer as Capt. Harold Camazo, 31, commander of the 11th Scout Ranger Company, while the identity of the other slain soldier  was not immediately available.

Galvez said one of the slain militants was identified as Alias Muads, an alleged rogue MILF rebel linked with the Abu Sayyaf group under Commander Puriji Indama.

Reports said Camazo and his men were conducting a clearing operation in Barangay Tongbato when the rebels and the bandits attacked them.

The clearing operation was part of an ongoing military operation in connection with last Monday’s fighting involving Army soldiers from the 1st Scout Ranger Company and Abu Sayyaf militants in Barangay Mebac, Sumisip town.

“Fighting is still ongoing,” Capt. Jefferson Somera, spokesman for the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, told journalists in a phone interview yesterday.

Galvez said the combined group of the Abu Sayyaf, MILF and BIFF were led by Puruji Indama, Imamul Mande, and Malista Sapaat.

He said they launched the operation after the combined Abu Sayyaf and rogue rebels attacked the troops and harassed plantation workers near the border of Sumisip and Ungkaya Pukan towns. 

The military official debunked claims of the MILF that the attack was in retaliation of an offensive of the government forces against the Misuari-faction MNLF rebels during the 22 days standoff last month.