CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – Army troopers recovered four high-powered firearms following a brief encounter with Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the Maguindanao town of Mamasapano on Sunday.
Maj. Arvin John Encinas, speaking for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), said soldiers were sent to the Mamasapano village of Tukanalipao after local residents alerted the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion about the presence of BIFF fighters in the village.
“While elements of Alpha Company of the 40th IB were conducting combat clearing operation in Barangay Tukanalipao, they were fired upon by about 20 fully armed men of BIFF that triggered a firefight,” Encinas said.
The 15-minute encounter ended with the BIFF gunmen fleeing towards the marshy area of Mamasapano.
Encinas said assorted firearms were found abandoned by the fleeing terrorists that included two M14 rifles, two Garand rifles, and an M16 rifle. The BIFF may have suffered casualties, he added, citing civilian informants in the area.
Major General Cirilito E. Sobejana, Army’s 6th ID commander, described the operation as a product of the focused and intensified military campaign against local terror groups in Central Mindanao.
Sobejana appealed to civilians to continue helping government forces locate terrorist groups operating in their communities.
“Your cooperation and untiring support to fight against violent extremism will hasten our aspiration to achieved peace and development in Central Mindanao,” he said. (/PNA)
