Philippines: Army battles Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) rebels opposing peace deal with the main insurgent group
Government troops clashed with hardline Muslim rebels opposed to the newly concluded peace deal with a main insurgent group and wounded at least two militants in ongoing fighting.
Regional Army Spokesman Col. Dickson Hermoso said police backed by troops were on the way to arrest commanders of the rebel Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) when the clash erupted Monday in a vast marshland of southern Maguindanao province.
Hermoso, speaking for the 6th Infantry Division, said the BIFF set off an improvised explosive device in Barangay Ulandang, Midsayap, North Cotabato while another band of guerillas were seen massing in the borders of Pikit, North Cotabato and the towns of Saydona Mustapha, Datu Piang and Sultan sa Barongis in Maguindanao.