5 troopers hurt in Maguindanao blast
The troopers are members of the Army’s 57th Infantry Battalion, a component unit of the 6th Infantry Division. AP/Bullit Marquez
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — Five Army soldiers were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in Datu Unsay town here yesterday morning.
1/Lt. Jano Cyril Reyes and his men – identified only as Pfcs. Maguncia, Purol and Crispo, and Pvt. Ramirez – were on their way to Cotabato City from Shariff Aguak when their vehicle hit the IED planted along the highway in Barangay Meta.
The troopers are members of the Army’s 57th Infantry Battalion, a component unit of the 6th Infantry Division.
The five, who sustained shrapnel wounds, were rushed to a hospital by responding police officers and emergency response teams, according to Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police.
The town of Datu Unsay is a base of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), whose leaders were reportedly trained in bomb-making by slain Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir and his local henchman Abdulbasit Usman.
Authorities said the bomb attack was the 17th perpetrated by the BIFF since December.
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