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Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Military resumes air, ground offensives
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Central Mindanao launched Monday simultaneous air and ground attacks against the group of rogue Moro rebel commander Umbra Kato in Datu Piang, a town in Maguindanao.
The offensives came four days after Kato's men snatched 28 sacks of rice from the delivery trucks hired by the United Nation's World Food Program (WFP), which were set to be distributed to thousands of internally displaced families in Barangay Libutan in Mamasapano, a town adjacent to Datu Piang.
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The WFP in Cotabato City distributed a total of 260 bags of rice to the estimated 500 evacuee-families in Libutan in three batches -- on August 30 and 31, and morning of September 2, reports from the military said.
Also, Colonel Marlou Salazar of the 601st Brigade of the Army said the military action against the rebels were carried out after they received reports from reliable sources in the area that a number of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels have converged in Barangay Tee, a remote farming district in Datu Piang.
The attacks also came after another improvised explosive device (IED) went off at the entrance gate of the municipal public market around 4 a.m. Monday in Isulan, capital town of Sultan Kudarat.
The blast was followed by the discovery in nearby Tacurong City of another IED manufactured from an 81-mm mortar, which was later defused by elements of the 65th Explosives and Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, around 7 a.m. Monday.
No one was injured during the blast, Salazar said in an interview over Catholic ran dxMS in Cotabato.
Residents in Datu Piang, Maguindanao have confirmed, in radio interviews, that bomber planes of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) also dropped bombs at areas where Kato's men were seen massing in troops.
Residents also said the MILF rebels tried to attack the Huey helicopters that hovered above their area by their caliber .50 machineguns.
Not one of the helicopters was hit, according to Salazar.
He said the rebels are led by Commander Wahid Tundok, the operations officer of the 105th Base Command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the military wing of the MILF.
Kato heads the 105th BIAF whose areas of coverage include Datu Piang and surrounding towns in Maguindanao, military reports said. (MCM/Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (September 9, 2008 issue)
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