Philippines air strikes destroy training camp for bomb makers

MANILA // Philippine aircraft and artillery have attacked a group of militants who were learning how to make improvised explosive devices, the military said yesterday.

The attacks, conducted from last Monday to Thursday, dealt a severe blow to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters ( B IFF), some of whose members have pledged allegiance to ISIL, said Brig Gen Restituto Padilla.

“The target was completely destroyed following assaults by planes, helicopter gunships and artillery.”

He said there were no civilians in the area during the attacks.

Brig Gen Padilla said foreign and local extremists were meeting in a Biff enclave in the southern province of Maguindanao when the attack was launched but he declined to say where the foreigners had come from.

He cited intelligence sources as saying 21 extremists were killed and 26 wounded although no body was found. at the scene. The rebels often carry away their dead and wounded. Five completed improvised explosive devices were found along with bomb making manuals and materials.

Government troops are still tracking down the remnants of the BIFF group, Brig Gen Padilla said.

The rebels have waged a separatist insurgency in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines since the 1970s . The conflict has claimed more than 120,000 lives.

While the major rebel organisations have for years observed a ceasefire as part of peace efforts, breakaway factions such as the BIFF and others militant groups still engage in bombings and kidnappings.