Terrorist Groups Attack Police Outpost in Maguindanao, 3 Cops Hurt
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COTABATO CITY – Suspected members of two terrorist groups attacked a roadside police detachment in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao del Sur late Sunday, hurting three policemen and causing panic among villagers in nearby houses.
Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), told reporters via Viber at midnight Monday that the wounded policemen, Patrolmen Abdul Ali Lipuas and Alesona Makaandig and Corporal Fernan Andres were immediately rushed to a hospital for treatment.
The three policemen, members of the 1402nd Regional Mobile Force Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion under PRO-BAR, sustained multiple gunshot wounds when combined members of the Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) approached their detachment in Barangay Pagatin in Datu Salibo and opened fire with M16 and M14 assault rifles.
After the attack, the gunmen scampered away as the policemen inside returned fire, wounding three terrorists whom villagers initially identified as Abdulmuin, Salik, and Muntas, seen being carried by retreating companions.
Traditional community elders and barangay officials confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that the two terrorists wanted for high-profile criminal cases, Yusah Ganoy and Musa Samsudin, led the attack that also triggered panic among villagers in houses nearby.
Army Major Gen. Alex Rillera, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the atrocity was an apparent ploy to create an impression that the Dawlah Islamiya and the BIFF, both fomenting hatred for non-Muslims, have remained strong despite by the surrender in batches of some 326 members since 2020.
Former members of the terrorist groups, who returned to the fold of the law, had been reintegrated into mainstream society with the help of agencies of the Bangsamoro government and local executives in Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte, and Maguindanao del Sur provinces.
Both terror groups have a reputation for bombing passenger vehicles and commercial establishments if owners refuse to pay “protection money” on a monthly basis.
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