Several houses were burned in Barangay Dalgan, Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur. Photo taken on Sunday, 10 December 2023, courtesy of Jom Dimapalao
COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 11 December) – At least nine members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the armed wing of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), have been killed in an encounter with the Dawlah Islamiya – Hassan Group, an official said.
This brought to 20 the number of individuals killed in clashes in the Ligawasan Marsh that started last December 7 between government troops and the DI-Hassan group, including from the latter.
Bangsamoro Member of Parliament Akmad Abas, also known as Commander Jack Abas of the MILF Eastern Mindanao Front, said the clashes have also involved BIAF members against the DI- Hassan Group.
On Sunday, Abas said they conducted clearing and retrieval operations for the remains of nine of their men in Barangay Dalgan, Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur killed in the encounter with the terror group.
Bangsamoro Member of Parliament Akmad Abas, alias Commander Jack Abas of the MILF Eastern Mindanao Front, leads the retrieval operations in Barangay Dalgan, Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur. Photo taken on Sunday, 10 December 2023, courtesy of Jom Dimapalao
He noted that some of the members of the DI-Hassan Group entered Sitio Wata last week to recruit locals to their fold.
Abdulmalik Kalimpo, alias Commander Robertson of the MILF 129th Base Command, said they rejected the recruitment, which triggered the tension in the area.
They killed Commander Samsuddin of the MILF 108th Base Command, whom they accused as a government asset, and a six-month old baby girl, and burned several houses there, Kalimpo told local journalists.
Together with the government troops and their artillery and air assets, the BIAF went after the terrorist group but the latter suffered nine fatalities whose remains were recovered Sunday, Abas said.
Thursday last week, nine members of the DI-Hassan Group were killed while 10 others were allegedly severely wounded, said Captain Alex Duma, 602nd Army Brigade spokesperson.
Kalimpo said he saw three more dead bodies being carried away by their cohorts as they fled to the different parts of Ligawasan Marsh.
It appeared they were avenging the deaths of their comrades by attacking a nearby MILF camp, Duma said.
While the military had halted its operation, the BIAF combatants have been left to face squarely the terror group in the Ligawasan Marsh to thwart the latter’s plan to attack or penetrate MILF communities, Kalimpo said.
Dozens of families from Barangay Dalgan had managed to flee the village amid the encounter between the MILF-BIAF and the terror group. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)
