3 wounded, weapons seized in Maguindanao del Sur clash

COTABATO CITY — Soldiers wounded three members of a terrorist group and seized three firearms along with a dozen homemade bombs they abandoned while fleeing during an encounter in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao del Sur, on Saturday, May 3.

Local executives and Muslim preachers supporting the military’s anti-terror campaign in Central Mindanao said on Sunday, May 4, that the gunfight involved soldiers from the Army’s 6th Infantry Battalion under the 6th Infantry Division and around 10 terrorists from the now significantly weakened Dawlah Islamiya and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

They also confirmed that three terrorists, initially identified only as Kamid, Isham and Karim, were wounded in the brief clash and were seen by villagers being carried away by their companions as they fled.

They left behind an M14 assault rifle, two bags each containing a .45 caliber pistol, a dozen improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and components for homemade bombs that can be remotely detonated using mobile phones.

Lt. Col. Al Victor Burkley, commanding officer of the 6th Infantry Battalion, said their troops were deployed to a remote area in Barangay Penditen to verify reports from villagers about the presence of armed men appearing to prepare for an attack.

Community leaders said the terrorists, who were extorting money from villagers at gunpoint, opened fire on approaching soldiers, triggering a gunfight that forced them to flee while carrying their three wounded companions.

Burkley told reporters that they are now in custody of the firearms and explosives the terrorists left as they escaped toward a nearby marshland.