Philippine Marines gunned down a reported cousin of Bangsamoro
Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) founder Ameril Umbra, alias Umbra Kato, and
three other Muslim rebels, including an Arab-looking fighter after encounters
in Shariff Saidona, Maguindanao last Saturday (March 7, 2015) night.
Kato’s
cousin whose name is still being verified, and three others in Barangay Pusao,
Shariff Saidona. Kato’s alleged relative was wearing a uniform of the police
Special Action Force (SAF). Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines Public Affairs Office (AFP-PAO) said the bodies of the four slain
BIFF rebels were turned over to local authorities for Muslim burial rites after
being processed by the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and
Detection Group (CIDG).
The soldiers
recovered from Kato’s slain relative a mobile phone that contained messages
from the BIFF leader who called the rebel his cousin and also issued orders to
the guerrillas.
Cabunoc said
the military believed that Kato’s slain relative and the Arab-looking rebel
were part of the BIFF unit that killed 44 police Special Action Force (SAF)
commandos during the clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25, 2015
when the policemen raided the hideout of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir,
alias Marwan. The police commandos killed Marwan while his Filipino cohort
Basit Usman escaped.
Cabunoc said
some 73 BIFF rebels have been killed and 33 others wounded since the offensive
was launched last month against the BIFF and the newly formed Justice for
Islamic Movement (JIM) led by another Kato relative, Muhammad Ali Tambako.
On the
government side, four soldiers, including a young Army ranger lieutenant, were
killed while 29 others were wounded in the vicinity of Mamasapano, Datu Piang
and Shariff Saidona towns in Maguindanao last Sunday.
Close to
50,000 residents have evacuated from Mamasapano, Datu Piang and Sharif Saidona
towns in Maguindanao due to the continued fighting between government troops
and BIFF rebels. More than 20 schools in the area have been closed affecting
over 20,000 elementary and high school students.
No comments:
Post a Comment