From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 28): BIFF detonates bomb hurting girl, pregnant woman in Maguindanao
As a diversionary tactic, the renegade Moro rebels now the subject of massive military offensive in Maguindanao set an improvised bomb at a public terminal here that left a pregnant woman and an eight-year-old girl wounded, the Army said Tuesday.
Government forces and members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have been trading bullets and mortars since Sunday that, as claimed by the military, already claimed the lives of about 30 rebels.
Colonel Dickson Hermoso, speaking for the 6th Infantry Division, said the bombing at Datu Piang public terminal was an apparent a diversionary attack the BIFF pulled off to divert the attention of military, now focused on arresting leaders of the renegade group long wanted for heinous offenses.
The blast victims were rushed to a dispensary in the town proper of Datu Piang for medication.
Hermoso said one of the Army’s concerns now is the safety of civilian communities from diversionary attacks by the BIFF.
The punitive action against the BIFF was aimed at flushing bandits out of the swampy areas at the border of Maguindanao andNorth Cotabato .
“The 6th ID and the police are not taking chances," Hermoso said, adding that the Army and the Maguindanao PNP are anticipating bombings in civilian communities.
He said the BIFF has been known for targeting innocent people for its diversionary attacks when cornered in a military operation.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=610312
As a diversionary tactic, the renegade Moro rebels now the subject of massive military offensive in Maguindanao set an improvised bomb at a public terminal here that left a pregnant woman and an eight-year-old girl wounded, the Army said Tuesday.
Government forces and members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have been trading bullets and mortars since Sunday that, as claimed by the military, already claimed the lives of about 30 rebels.
Colonel Dickson Hermoso, speaking for the 6th Infantry Division, said the bombing at Datu Piang public terminal was an apparent a diversionary attack the BIFF pulled off to divert the attention of military, now focused on arresting leaders of the renegade group long wanted for heinous offenses.
The blast victims were rushed to a dispensary in the town proper of Datu Piang for medication.
Hermoso said one of the Army’s concerns now is the safety of civilian communities from diversionary attacks by the BIFF.
The punitive action against the BIFF was aimed at flushing bandits out of the swampy areas at the border of Maguindanao and
“The 6th ID and the police are not taking chances," Hermoso said, adding that the Army and the Maguindanao PNP are anticipating bombings in civilian communities.
He said the BIFF has been known for targeting innocent people for its diversionary attacks when cornered in a military operation.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=610312