Four members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were killed in a clash Wednesday three days after the terrorists entered in the southern part of Paglas town, stole food and threatened civilians for hours before fighting security forces and eventually escaping.
Brig. Gen. Roy Galido, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, said troops clashed with a group of terrorists and killed four of them in the outskirts of Datu Paglas town the BIFF raided over the weekend.
Galido said troops recovered the bodies of the slain gunmen.
“The operating troops recovered four dead bodies belonging to the extremist group, one high powered firearm and other war materials,” he said.
Most of the BIFF members were former fighters of the larger separatist rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose chairman Murad Ebrahim is now the Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao following the signing of the 2014 peace accord with Manila.
The attack in Datu Paglas town crippled the highway linking it to other towns and triggered an exodus of civilians for fear of being caught in a battle between militants and soldiers, The fighting occurred during the last days of the holy month of Ramadan.