2 TV5 NEWS CREW MEMBERS, 10 OTHERS HURT IN MAGUINDANAO ROAD BOMBING

February 1, 2014 10:33 AM

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 10:51AM) Twelve soldiers and civilians, including a reporter and cameraman of TV5, were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) allegedly planted by members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) hit their convoy Saturday morning in Barangay Lower Salbu, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

Reporter Jeff Caparas and cameraman Adrian Bulatao are in stable condition, but suffered multiple shrapnel wounds on their right side, after the IED explosion hit a marked TV5 vehicle that was traveling with a civilian pick-up and two SFV military vehicles.

Maj. Dante Gania, public affairs chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the explosion hit the convoy of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion (MIB) at around 7:33 a.m. “We have 6 soldiers and 6 civilians wounded. Two of the civilians were crew of TV5 network,” Gania said.

Three UH-IH helicopters from the Tactical Operations Group 12 were dispatched to pick up the wounded and bring them to hospital from the headquarters of the 1MIB in Sharif Aguak town, where they were first given medical attention.

Fighting between soldiers and the BIFF started last Monday, just hours after the signing of the last annex paving the way for a comprehensive peace agreement between the Philippine government and the BIFF, whose leader was expelled from MILF two years ago for rejecting the peace negotiations.

The fighting since Monday has killed at least 52 BIFF rebels, including 13 “child soldiers” of the BIFF and a government trooper.

The military said some 100 were wounded on the BIFF side, and 20 wounded on their side.

Earlier, 6ID spokesman Col. Dickson Hermoso said they will intensify their offensive to defeat the BIFF with the backing of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The 72-hour extension of the offensive earlier approved by the Adhoc Joint Action Group (AJAG) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and MILF expired Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014. Hermoso said a second extension is very likely as the military prepares for bigger offensives in the coming hours.

The BIFF was formed in 2012 by former MILF commander Amerial Umbra Kato after the MILF Central Committee expelled him from the organization. Since then Kato and his followers have attacked civilian communities, prompting the government to call them “spoilers of peace”.

Source: Manny Piñol