CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – One of three civilians fired upon by fleeing members of the Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) at the borders of Pagalungan and Datu Montawal towns in Maguindanao province died in a hospital Friday, the military said.
Capt. Arvin John Encinas, Army’s 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, identified the fatality as Babay Dansalan of Barangay Dungguan, Datu Montawal town.
Two other civilian companions of Dansalan — Maula Rerente Mangimblas and Dangalao Dangwa Akad, also of Barangay Dungguan — are still undergoing treatment in a hospital in neighboring Kabacan town in North Cotabato province.
Shortly before 3 p.m. on Friday, a firefight erupted between troopers of the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion and members of the BIFF faction of Abu Toraife along the Tunggol River traversing the towns of Pagalungan and Datu Montawal.
Some 10 armed men under BIFF sub-commander Gapang Sapal were aboard a motorized banca to transport homemade bombs to Kabacan, North Cotabato via the Tunggol River when they were intercepted by military personnel manning the Tunggol Bridge that separates Pagalungan and Datu Montawal.
The BIFF-Abu Toraife group has been tagged by the military as behind the Aug. 28 and Sept. 2 bombings in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, which left five people dead and 48 others injured.
“The BIFF fired at our troops on the bridge and those at the riverbank, triggering the firefight,” Encinas said, adding that the military has been earlier tipped off by civilians about the planned transport of three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by the terror group through the river.
He said the tipsters disclosed that the IEDs would be coming from riverside Sitio Kabasalan, Barangay Darampua, Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao to Kabacan town, prompting the Joint Task Force (JTF) Central to conduct appropriate security measures.
As the firefight raged on, Encinas said the BIFF abandoned their motor banca and fled towards Barangay Dungguan, where they deliberately fired at the three civilians they saw along the way.
Soldiers, however, were able to corner and arrest two BIFF members, identified as Mohamid Kambilan and Abdulah Minola, both of the Abu Toraife faction. Both are now being detained at the Datu Montawal police station as charges are being readied against them.
The pursuit also resulted in the recovery of two M16 rifles, one M1 Garand, one .45-caliber pistol, assorted firearm clips, and ammunition.
Civilian residents revealed that about 7 p.m., three of the suspects killed and two more who were wounded were fetched by two motorized bancas in a secluded expanse of the river.
Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander and concurrent head of JTF Central, said the local government units of Pagalungan and Datu Montawal are in close coordination with them to fend off the terrorist group from their respective areas.
“The Datu Montawal LGU also promised to shoulder expenses for the burial of Dansalan and medical expenses of the two other civilians wounded in the incident,” Sobejana said.
He promised to stop the nefarious activities of the BIFF with the help of LGUs and communities in Central Mindanao.
“Security is not the sole responsibility of the military and police. Security is everybody’s responsibility,” he said. (Noel Punzalan/PNA)
