TWO followers of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were killed in a clash with joint government forces in the province of Maguindanao, the military said Saturday, February 22.
Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, said the clash happened at 6:50 a.m. Friday in Lipao Village, Datu Paglas, Maguindanao.
Sobejana said the government forces were on law enforcement operation when they clashed with the BIFF group led by a certain Commander Grasscutter that resulted to the death of two BIFF fighters.
The joint team comprises of troops from the Army’s 40th Infantry Battalion, agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and policemen of Datu Paglas town.
He said the troops have recovered from the clash site the remains of the two slain BIFF fighters, one M-14 rifle, one M-16 Armalite rifle, bandoliers and magazines.
He added that Commander Grasscutter, aside from being a BIFF leader, also leads a drug syndicate in Maguindanao.
Commander Grasscutter belongs to the BIFF faction led by Abdulmalik Esmael alias Abu Toraife, he said.
The Westmincom chief said they are committed to provide support to all law enforcement operations in the area of Maguindanao.
“We launch intensive operations against private armed groups, undocumented firearms, and illegal drugs to deter criminality and to secure peace and development in the area of operation,” he added. (SunStar Zamboanga)