BIFF men kill off-duty soldier in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – Members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) killed on Thursday another off-duty soldier in Datu Piang town, the second attack since Tuesday.

Col. Markton Abo, commanding officer of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion, identified the slain soldier as Cpl. Macapeges Mamangcua, shot dead by BIFF bandits while buying fruits at a market along a stretch of the highway in Barangay Dapiawan, Datu Piang.

Mamangcua, who belonged to the 33rd Infantry Battalion, was attacked from behind by gunmen armed with .45 caliber pistols.

Local officials and barangay leaders said the suspects belong to a group led by clerics Tambako and Karialan, both henchmen of BIFF founder Imam Ameril Umbra Kato.

Followers of the two BIFF leaders shot dead last Tuesday at the town proper of Datu Piang, Pfcs. Rex Limpahan and Edward Baes of the 62nd Reconnaissance Company of the 6th Infantry Division.

Limpahan and Baes were coming out from a Catholic church in the center of Datu Piang’s town proper when bandits shot them dead with 9mm pistols.