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Monday, April 14, 2003
10 MILF rebels hurt in Cotabato battles
By Raquel C. Bagnol and Peng Aliņo
DAVAO -- At least 10 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were wounded in renewed clashes that took place in different areas of North Cotabato from Friday until Sunday, a military report said.
Col. Carduzo Luna, head of the 602nd Infantry Brigade based in Carmen, North Cotabato, said members of the 40th Infantry Battalion led by Col. Onisimo Baniaga clashed for over an hour with a group of 30 MILF members in Kuyapon, Kabacan, Cotabato at 9 p.m. Saturday.
Earlier that afternoon, 20 MILF rebels attacked the 6th Infantry Battalion, as it patrolled a bridge under construction by the North Cotabato Provincial Engineering group in Buliok Complex, Pikit, North Cotabato.
The rebels showered heavy construction equipment with bullets using rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and other high-powered firearms. No one was reported hurt in the 30-minute gunfight. The military recovered a 60mm mortar from the scene.
Later at 10 p.m. that same day, a group of 20 Moro rebels armed with RPG and other high caliber firearms attacked a military detachment in West Patadon, Matalam, Cotabato.
The troopers of the 39th Infantry Batallion led by Lt. Col. Alan Martin engaged the rebels in a 30-minute firefight.
The number of casualties on the MILF side could not be determined but bloodstains littered the spot where the rebels dragged away their dead comrades, the military said.
On Friday night, MILF rebels planted a bomb at one of the power towers in Barangay Kitulaan, Carmen, North Cotabato but elements of the 40th Infantry Battalion and the Cotabato Anti-Crime Task Force were able to detonate the bomb before it could explode.
Luna said they are implementing tighter security measures in all areas of North Cotabato because of intensified MILF attacks. Sun.Star Davao
(April 14, 2003 issue)
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