Army arrests 6 BIFF members in Maguindanao town

Personnel of the 33rd Infantry Battalion on an operation in Sultan Kudarat province. 33rd Infantry Makabayan Battalion

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Updated 5:42 pm) —  Soldiers arrested after a brief encounter in Datu Paglas town on Wednesday six members of an armed group advocating a radically violent version of Islam in Datu Paglas town.

Bastun Baguil, Mulawan Lagala, Agila Yusoph, Muslimin Lumenda, Macalam Salabah, and Delamex Lumnah are now in the joint custody of the Datu Paglas municipal police and the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion (33rd IB).

 

They were arrested after a brief encounter early Wednesday with personnel of the 33rd IB, led by Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, in Barangay Mangadeg in Datu Paglas town in Maguindanao.

 

The six suspects have confessed to their being members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which uses the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as its banner.

 

Cabunoc said they learned of the presence of the militants in Barangay Mangadeg from local officials and community leaders, who even led them to their hideout.

 

They immediately yielded and turned in two .50-cal sniping rifles, an M60 machinegun, a B-40 anti-tank rocket launcher, an M14 rifle and an M16 rifle when they sensed that soldiers had surrounded their hideout.

 

Cabunoc said they are thankful to local officials in Datu Paglas for providing them vital information that led to arrest of the six men.

 

The BIFF, which is believed to be harboring wanted foreign jihadists, splintered from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in late 2010.

 

Cabunoc said their operation that resulted in the capture of the six BIFF gunmen was coordinated with local commanders of the MILF.

 

There is an interim security pact between the government and the MILF, the July 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities, binding both sides to mutually cooperate in neutralizing criminals and terrorists operating in far-flung areas.

 

The BIFF, led by radical clerics claiming allegiance to ISIS, espouses hatred for Christians and for moderate Muslims.