Four soldiers, 14 rebels dead in Mindanao operation

MANILA: Philippine troops have killed at least 14 militants aligned with Daesh group in a weeklong offensive in a Maguindanao province in Mindanao, that also left four soldiers dead, a regional military commander said on Saturday.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said an unspecified number of militants, including gunmen belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, were wounded in clashes in the towns of Ampatuan and Datu Hoffer Ampatuan in Maguindanao province.

The bodies of five of the slain militants were recovered by government forces, he said, adding that 10 soldiers were wounded in the fighting.

Major Arvin Encinas, the spokesman of the military’s Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said the skirmishes between the soldiers and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Liberation Forces (MILF) were concentrated in the towns of Ampatuan and Datu Hofer in Maguindanao

Encinas reported 11 soldiers were also wounded as he pointed out the the BIFF death toll could still rise, explaining they were checking reports from eyewitness that nine more extremists had been killed.

The clashes, he said, started on Monday but heavy fighting continued and has since expanded from several villages in Ampatuan to the neighboring town of Datu Hofer that forced the evacuation of affected residents.

Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, the Westmincom chief, paid tribute to the slain soldiers as he stressed: “We salute the bravery of our fallen soldiers to spare our communities from the treachery of the heartless enemies. We are determined to pursue our campaign, penetrate enemy lines to ensure the safety of our people.”

Meanwhile, Encinas revealed that pursuing ground troops have been assisted by attack helicopters and artillery fire that enabled them to overrun enemy encampments where they seized firearms, ammunition and improvised bombs.

The government and the MILF later signed an historic peace agreement that resulted in Congress enacting the Bangsamoro Organic Law signed by President Duterte that established a new political entity known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).