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By Julmunir I. Jannaral And Al Jacinto,
Correspondents
COTABATO CITY: A ranking military official of the 6th Infantry
Division (6ID) of the Philippine Army based in Camp Siongco, Awang,
Maguindanao on Tuesday, pointed to the rebels under renegade Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Commander Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato
as responsible for bombing a bridge in Datu Piang, Maguindanao,
while the MILF vowed to conduct a thorough investigation into the
incident.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, 6ID spokesman told The
Manila Times that the Lintokan Bridge, which is the third bridge
from the town proper of Datu Piang, was partially damaged after it
was destroyed by an improvised explosive device (IED) on the morning
of Tuesday.
Ponce said though the damage of the bridge was
partial, it was rendered impassable to vehicles.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and
the Philippine National Police Explosives and Ordnance Division (EOD)
have jointly launched a clearing operation around the vicinity,
checked other bridges, and looked for more IEDs that could be hidden
under the bridge,” Ponce said.
The Army official also said that Moro rebels
under renegade Commander Kato could be behind the attack.
He also divulged that an undetermined number of
Moro rebels, also under Kato’s direct command, invaded a place
known as Reina Regente, which is also under the jurisdiction of Datu
Piang forcing the residents to flee after Kato’s men had allegedly
burned their homes.
Ponce identified the MILF sub-commanders
responsible for burning of the houses in Reina Regente as the
following—Commander Tata; Ustadz Kasan Indal; Hadji Fahad; and
Hadji Naim.
“Apparently, the MILF hierarchy can no longer
control their commanders in the ground,” Ponce emphasized.
“The MILF is now desperate and even Muslim
communities are not spared from its attack especially those who are
not sympathetic to their cause,” Ponce further said.
“Troops are clearing the area,” said Lt.
Col. Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry
Division.
The MILF said the bombing of the bridge was part
of a counter-attack. It denied that rebels burned houses of
civilians.
“We have nothing to do with the burning of the
houses, but rebel forces bombed the bridge—it was part of a
counter-attack against the military, which have targeted the
innocent Muslims in their offensives,” said Eid kabalu, a senior
MILF leader.
Kabalu said rebels forces also attacked Tuesday
morning another military target in Datu Saudi Ampatuan tow, also in
Maguindanao province.
He said the military launched a series of
offensives that targeted the MILF, but Ponce said the attacks were
aimed at capturing Kato’s group.
Security forces were also tracking down two
other MILF leaders, Abdurahman Macapaar and Sulayman Panglian, who
were blamed by the military and police for the string of attacks in
Mindanao since last year after the seven-year old peace talks
between the rebels and the government collapsed.
On Sunday, MILF rebels fired anti-rockets at the
positions of the Army’s 54th Infantry Battalion in the village of
Datu Gumbay in Datu Piang town. The MILF said it was targeting the
105mm cannons and munitions storage of the soldiers.
As this developed, Kabalu, who is also the chief
of the MILF General Staff of Civil-Military Affairs and concurrently
MILF spokesman, likewise informed The Manila Times that they will
conduct a thorough investigation regarding the bombing of the said
bridge.
Kabalu accused the AFP of always blaming the
MILF every time an incident like this happens in Maguindanao
province.
The MILF spokesman said a lot of similar
incidents that happened in the past were actually perpetrated by the
military, but yet the AFP had always accused the MILF as the
culprit.
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