MAGUINDANAO – Philippine troops have seized a bomb factory run by jihadist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Maguindanao province in the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, officials said Monday.
Troops fire artillery rounds on BIFF targets in Maguindanao province in southern Philippines where the military launched fresh offensives against the jihadist group. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Mark Navales)
MAGUINDANAO – Philippine troops have seized a bomb factory run by jihadist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Maguindanao province in the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, officials said Monday.
Officials said the factory in the sprawling three-hectare encampment in the village of Dasikil in Mamasapano town yielded various bomb materials. Troops also discovered 18 thatched houses believed used by the BIFF under Mohammad Ali Tambako.
Among bomb materials recovered in the area were fuses for mortar and anti-tank rockets and cell phone parts.
Officials said BIFF forces abandoned the encampment before troops could arrive, but they left a cache of evidence that solidifies military accusations that the rebel group was behind a series of bombings that targeted not only soldiers, but innocent civilians as well.
Just recently, troops also disarmed a powerful improvised explosive planted on a vital highway that links several towns in Maguindanao. The bomb was discovered by a civilian in the village of Kabingi in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.
Security forces have launched a fresh offensive against the BIFF and former Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander Basit Usman in Maguindanao. The military campaign forced thousands of families to flee the villages for fear they would be caught in the crossfire. The BIFF is fighting for a separate Islamic state in the Philippines. (Mark Navales)
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