A TOP leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)-Karialan Faction and 11 followers were killed while seven soldiers were wounded in an intense clash in Maguindanao del Sur, the military said Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
Brigadier General Jose Vladimir Cagara, 1st Brigade Combat Team (1BCT), said the clash happened around 7:30 a.m. Monday, April 22, at Sitio Pendililang in Kitango village, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.
Cagara said the clash broke out when the troops chanced upon 15 heavily armed BIFF members while on combat operation in Kitango village.
Cagara identified the slain BIFF leader as Mohiden Animbang alias Karialan, the leader of the BIFF-Karialan Faction.
Cagara said also killed was Saga Animbang, the operations chief of the BIFF-Karialan Faction and the brother of Mohiden.
Cagara said they have yet to ascertain the identities of the 10 BIFF followers who were killed together with the Animbang brothers in the intensified military operation.
“We also seized 12 of their high-powered war materials, which includes five M16A1 rifles, three M14 rifles, two M653 rifles, one M4 rifle and one high-caliber gun," Cagara said.
He did not identify the seven soldiers who were wounded in the intense fighting against the BIFF-Karialan Faction.
Aside from the 1BCT, also involved in the combat operation were the troops of the 1st Scout Ranger Company under the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion and Scout Platoon 92 and 99.
On March 22, Abu Halil, the training officer of BIFF-Karialan Faction was killed in military offensive.
Halil is the brother of Khadafi Abdulatif, the chief of staff BIFF-Karialan Faction.
Major General Alex Rillera, 6th Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Central commander, said the troops along with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and other government officials have asked the BIFF-Karialan Faction to return to the folds of the law but they refused.
"The paramount duty of your Army is to protect the people against the sowing of violence by terrorist groups, which is why we are forced to use force to end terrorism in our area," Rillera said.
“I congratulate our troops in the 1BCT and other operating units, although we have seven soldiers who were wounded in this battle, we recognize their heroism in defending the country. We have achieved a huge success in erasing the BIFF-KF from the ranks of terrorist groups,” Rillera added. (SunStar Zamboanga)