Col. Melquiadez Feliciano, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, identified the slain soldier as Corporal Daniel Valenzuela. And the wounded were Privates First Class Gerry Gorgonio, Bryan Baylon and Joel Abellar, all members of the 33rd Infantry Battalion.
The fighting, which lasted over 3 hours, forced villagers to flee their homes and sough safe refuge in nearby areas.
Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, a spokeswoman for the 6th Infantry Division, said more troops were deployed in the areas following the rebel attacks.
She said Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, commander ng 6th Infantry Division, assured the safety of civilians and that security forces were pursuing the attackers. “We assure the public that the government forces will always be on top of the situation and will not allow the BIFF to continue their terror acts,” Petinglay quoted the commander as saying.
The BIFF, which broke away with the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is fighting for an independent Muslim state in the troubled region. The MILF signed a peace agreement with Manila last year ending decades of bloody war in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner – Rose Muneza reported in Sultan Kudarat and Mark Navales in Maguindanao)
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