Around 50 suspected members of amilitant group has attacked a military camp in Maguindanao province in thesouthern Philippines, the military said on Friday.
Lt. Col. Alaric Delos Santos, the spokesman of the military’s WesternMindanao Command (Westmincom), said members of the Bangsamoro Islamic FreedomFighters (BIFF) attacked an army camp in DatuPiang town at around 10:20 pm on Thursday.
He said the militants withdrew after a 15-minute firefight. There were nocasualties on both sides, he added.
The spokesman said the military launched a pursuit operation minutes afterthe fighting.
He said the fleeing militants torched a police car as they retreated. “Theysaw an abandoned police car and burned it,” he said.
“We are on top of the situation,” Wesmincom commander Lt. Gen. CorletoVinluan said, adding the troops had cleared the area.
“This is just an isolated case. The BIFF left the area after they burnedthe police patrol car,” he said, adding that an investigation was underway.
Vinluan said the BIFF is the target of ongoing military offensives in thearea, and it may have attempted the attack in DatuPiang to divert themilitary’s attention.
The BIFF is one of the extremist groups based in the Mindanao region withfactions linked to the Islamic State terrorist network.
The BIFF, composed of around 200 to 300 men, are blamed for bombings andother atrocities in Central Mindanao.
