THE Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters resumed attacks on military installations in Central Mindanao and attacked a government project in Maguindanao, wounding an Army officer, the military reported Saturday.
Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson of the Army’s Sixth Infantry Division, identified the wounded officer as Capt. Jimmy Amoloy, who was grazed by bullet in the forehead.
Amoloy, one of the officers of the 22nd Mechanized Company of the Second Mechanized Battalion, was deployed to secure a government project at Sitio Dagading, Barangay Tee in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao when his unit was fired upon by BIFF rebels at about 4:30 p.m. Friday.
In the initial exchange of fire, Amoloy was hit prompting his men to extract him and send him to the headquarters of the First Mechanized Brigade for medical treatment.
“The BIFF rebels fired at the army troopers because they are preventing the entry of development in the area,” Petinglay said in a text message.
Reports said the BIFF rebels that figured in the clashes were under BIFF commanders known as Bungos, Abusaiden, Kagui Tatang and Uztadz Roman.
A back hoe and excavator owned by the project contractor was damaged due to intense gunfire from the BIFF rebels.
Additional forces from the 1st Mechanized Brigade were dispatched to the construction site to augment the troops securing the development project.
The fighting sparked a day after military authorities enforced strict security measures in Sulu amid intelligence reports that the Abu Sayyaf had recruited jihadists to stage test bombings in the island of Jolo.
Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado, commander of the Joint Task Group Sulu, said this prompted high-level security measures after six reported recruits of ASG bandits were sighted in Jolo to conduct the test missions.
Arrojado said Abu Sayyaf recruits belonging to the group of Majan Sajidjuan, alias Apo Mike, were monitored roaming in Jolo.
“Apparently, the recruits were instructed by Apo Mike to conduct bombings in Jolo,” Arrojado said.
Reports said the targets of bombings by the ASG were commercial establishments, Jolo Cathedral, Jolo market, ports, naval vessels, entertainment centers frequented by military and police, Coast Guard Stations and business sites.
Parallel to bombings of government vital entities and private enterprises, the ASG were also ordered to initiate roadside bombings, specifically along the Jolo-Tagbak routes, aimed at military convoys.
The report said the homemade bombs to be used by the recruits were made by ASG bomb experts Muamar and Abu Jihad.
Arrojado said that while they are still verifying the authenticity of the reports, security has been fortified at the supposed targets and other establishments to deter the bomb attacks.
He said the bombing threat may be meant to be a diversionary move by the extremists to impair the ongoing operations against them in the province.
On Friday, elements of the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion discovered an unexploded fragmentation grenade at a nearby military post in Patikul, Sulu. The explosive device was found at about 5:45 a.m. a few meters away from the Tagbili Detachment.
“It was believed that the grenade was hurled at around 5:45 a.m. when the sentinel heard something drop, falling from the rooftop, but when he searched the area at that time found nothing until its discovery at daybreak,” Arrojado said.
On Tuesday, an additional Marine battalion was mobilized in Sulu as part of the government’s security preparations after the Bangsamoro Basic Law failed to pass in Congress.
