Tuesday, September 16, 2008 2 soldiers wounded in Maasim clash By Malu Cadelina Manar
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Two soldiers were wounded when they traded fires with suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Maasim, Sarangani, Friday afternoon, belated reports from the 10th Infantry Division said.
Lieutenant Kurt Decapia, officer-in-charge of the 10th ID public affairs office, identified the injured soldiers as Corporal Alfonso Dianon and Pfc. Andres Contemplo, both elements of the Army's 73rd Infantry Battalion.
The soldiers were brought to Sarangani Hospital for medical treatment, while the remaining troops in the area continued the pursuits against the lawless groups, Decapia said.
"It is believed that the MILF suffered heavy casualties as indicated by the bloodstains scattered in their route of withdrawal," the Army official said in a press statement.
Troops led by First Lieutenant Arthur Allaguain of the 73rd IB and Second Lieutenant Michael Espiritu of the 101st Reconnaissance Company were conducting patrol operations at sitio Macao-2 in Barangay Daliao, Maasim in Sarangani when they chanced a group of MILF rebels in the area and engaged them in a 30-minute firefight.
"Information reaching us said that the rebels were out to launch an attack in nearby Barangay Daliao, also in Maasim, but the immediate deployment of our troops in the area blocked their plan," said Decapia.
