COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Soldiers recovered 16 improvised bombs in a suspected hideout of members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao del Sur on Tuesday.
The BIFF bandits eluded arrest.
Maj. Gen. Roy Galido, 6th Infantry Division commander, said soldiers defused the bombs found in an abandoned house at the border of Barangays Pandi and Pindeten.
The operation was conducted after villagers reported the presence of BIFF men making bombs in the area.
The BIFF and its ally, the Dawlah Islamiya, have been blamed for bombings in Central Mindanao since 2014.