2 killed Maguindanao bombing

Soldiers inspect a site in the village of Kitanggo in Maguindanao's Datu Saudi Ampatuan town where an improvised explosive went off Monday, June 29, 2009 killing two persons and wounding eight others. The Army's 6th Infantry Division has blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the bombing, an accusation strongly denied by the rebel group. (Mindanao Examiner Photo by Mark Navales).

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 29, 2009) – Two people were killed on Monday and at least 8 others wounded in a bomb attack blamed by the military to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a regional army spokesman, said the powerful explosion occurred at around 6 a.m. near a market in Kitanggo village in town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao province.

He said the explosion killed Malimpunok Nunokan, 65, and Tong Hadji Omal, 25.

“One of the dead was the courier of the bomb and a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s special operations group,” Ponce said without identifying the bomber.

It was unknown if the bombing was a suicide attack. Other reports said the improvised explosive was planted near a café.

Ponce the bomb was assembled from an 81mm mortar. “The series of IED bombings in central Mindanao are the handiwork of the special operations group of the MILF,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the blast, but the MILF denied it was behind the bombing and said soldiers planted the explosive as part of its campaign to discredit the rebel group.

“Villagers saw soldiers arrived in the area at dawn and there was an explosion several hours later,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, told reporters.

The MILF, which is fighting the last three decades for self-determination in Mindanao, previously accused government soldiers as behind the spate of bombings and burning of houses in the province to discredit the rebel group. (Mindanao Examiner)

Bomb blast kills 1, injures 7 in Maguindanao province

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Rebels detonate bombs in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 6, 2009) – Suspected Moro rebels set off three improvised explosives Saturday in the restive southern Filipino province of Maguindanao, scene of fierce clashes in recent months, a military report said.

The report said the roadside bombings occurred in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, where Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels and government forces previously clashed.

The military blamed the attacks on the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in Mindanao.

The MILF has denied any involvement in the latest attacks. It said soldiers could have detonated the bombs and put the blame on rebels. “The MILF has nothing to do with the explosions; it could be the handiwork of the soldiers to discredit us,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He also accused troops, from the 6th Infantry Division, as behind the burning Saturday of many houses owned by Muslims in the neighboring town of Guidulungan.

“The soldiers torched the houses after they failed to find any rebels in the area. Muslims are fleeing their homes because they are scared of the soldiers who are notorious for their human rights records,” Kabalu said.

There was no immediate statement from the 6th Infantry Division and its spokesmen did not answer calls from journalists.

Maguindanao is one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. The MILF said more than 600,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Mindanao.

President Gloria Arroyo opened peace talks in 2001 with the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in Mindanao, but negotiations collapsed in August last year.

The MILF accused Manila of reneging on a Muslim homeland which was initially signed in Malaysia in July. The Supreme Court said the deal was unconstitutional. (Mindanao Examiner)

MILF rebels bomb bridge, torched houses in Mindanao

Philippine Army armored personnel carriers and trucks move down a highway of the town of Datu Piang in Maguindanao province after separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels bombed a bridge in the village of Lintokan on Tuesday May 26, 2009. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 26, 2009) – Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels on Tuesday bombed a bridge and raided a village Maguindanao province in the restive Muslim autonomous region in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the attack on the bridge occurred before dawn in the village of Lintokan in Datu Piang town. Rebels also torched houses on a nearby village of Reina Regente forcing residents to flee the rampage.

There were no immediate reports of civilian casualties, but the military blamed the attacks on a senior MILF leader, Ameril Kato, who also led a series of deadly attacks last year in the region.

“Troops are clearing the area,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

He said security forces were tracking down the rebels. “The rebels are desperate and even Muslim communities are being attacked, especially those which are not sympathetic to their cause. This is a clear manifestation of terrorism in the region,” Ponce told the Mindanao Examiner.

The MILF said the bombing of the bridge was part of a counter-attack. It denied 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.

Rebel forces also attacked government troops earlier in the day in the village of Teren-Teren in North Cotabato’s Alamada town and three other areas in the towns of Banisilan, Aleosan and Midsayap.

There was no immediate statement from the governor of Maguindanao, Datu Andal Ampatuan, or his brother Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, who is also the governor of the autonomous region. Both are fierce rivals of the MILF.

Last month, two civilians were wounded at market bombing blamed to the MILF in Sultan Kudarat’s Lebak town and another bombing of a bridge in Iligan City.

Manila opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001, but the negotiations collapsed in August after government negotiators reneged on a deal that would grant some four million Muslims a separate homeland across more than 700 villages in Mindanao. The Supreme Court said the deal was unconstitutional. (With a report from Ferdinandh Cabrera)

2 pro-army militias killed in ambush in South RP

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 15, 2009) – Two government militias were killed in ambush before dawn Wednesday in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao, officials said.

Officials blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the attack that occurred at around 1.30 a.m. in the village of Elian in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.

The two militias were in separate tricycle and motorcycle when they came under fire, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the army’s 6th Infantry Division.

“They were fired upon by MILF forces,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

The identities of the slain militias were not immediately known. Ponce did not say the motive of the attack.

The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in Mindanao, did not give any statement about the accusations.

Peace talks between Manila and the MILF had collapsed last year after the failed signing of the Muslim homeland deal.

But despite the failed peace talks, a fragile truce is still holding between the two sides, although sporadic clashes continue in some parts of the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Fighting leaves 1 soldier dead, 8 wounded in southern Philippines

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Troops Kill 19 Moro Rebels In Southern RP

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 1, 2008) – Philippine soldiers killed at least 19 Moro rebels in a sporadic, but fierce clashes that also left 3 infantrymen wounded in the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, an army spokesman said Saturday.

Officials said Moro Islamic Liberation Front forces launched simultaneous attacks Friday on government troops in the towns of Mamasapano and Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the autonomous region.

“At least 19 rebels were killed in the clashes and we have already identified three of the slain gunmen. Three of our soldiers are also wounded in the fighting,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, of the 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the rebels were under Ameril Kato, one of three MILF leaders implicated in the series of deadly attacks on civilian targets in Mindanao since August.

The MILF denied that 19 rebels were slain in the fighting. “That’s not true. It is just one of the military’s propaganda,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

Troops were also pursuing Abdullah Macapaar and Sulayman Pangalian, tagged as behind attacks in North Cotabato and Sarangani provinces in recent months.

The military previously said that Kato and Macapaar were on the run and without munitions because of the continued government offensives and in several occasions claimed the rebel leaders had been killed in separate fighting.

But both Kato and Macapaar later surfaced separately and held their own clandestine media interview and vowed to launch more attacks and at the same time dared the military to get them.

Manila suspended peace talks with the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination in Mindanao, after the rebel attacks in August.

The attacks were triggered by the failed signing of the Muslim territorial deal between the MILF and the government. The deal would have granted more than four million Muslims their own homeland across 700 villages in the troubled region, but the agreement also sparked massive protests from residents and politicians opposed to the accord.

The Supreme Court recently declared the ancestral domain deal unconstitutional. (Mindanao Examiner)

Soldiers Arrest 3 MILF Rebels Implicated In Murder, Attack On Southern RP Village

Photos released by the Army's 104th Infantry Brigade show assorted radios, explosives and munitions left behind by MILF commander Lumundaya Mabuntal after a clash with soldiers in Lanao del Norte province in Mindanao.

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 10, 2008) – Philippine soldiers arrested Friday three Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels implicated in the killing of a village chieftain in Mindanao, officials said.

Officials said troops raided a rebel hideout and arrested the trio in the village of Sambolawan in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in the restive Muslim autonomous province of Maguindanao.

But the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels said the three men were innocent civilians arrested at a refugee shelter in the village.

“This is a clear violation of human rights. Troops raided the evacuation center, causing panic and fears among children and women, and they arrested three innocent Muslim men on mere suspicion they are MILF supporters or rebels,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

The MILF identified the trio as Surab Sinuka, 30; Nasser Abubakar, 33; and Abe Kalikod, 35.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, denied the MILF claims and said the three men behind the recent killing of a village chieftain in the town, scene of previous battles between rebels and soldiers.

“What soldiers raided was a hideout of lawless MILF members and not a refugee center. The three men are under rogue MILF leader Ameril Kato, whom is wanted by authorities for deadly attacks in the provinces,” Ando said in a separate interview.

Ando said the three men were also involved in previous attacks in the village of Pagatin in Datu Saudi Ampatuan. “We have recovered a grenade launcher and munitions from their hideout. The three rebels are being interrogated,” he said.

Sporadic fighting continues in Mindanao between rebel and government forces since August after MILF gunmen raided and killed many innocent civilians in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Sarangani provinces.

The aborted signing of the Muslim ancestral domain with the MILF triggered the attacks, blamed on Kato and two other rebel leaders Abdurahman Macapaar and Sulayman Pangalian.

Authorities also tagged the MILF as behind the series of bombings that toppled steel pylons of the state-run National Transmission Corporation (Transco) in Mindanao.

Army Col. Benito de Leon, commander of the 104th Infantry Brigade, said Macapaar’s group was among those behind the toppling of the pylons in the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Sarangani and North Cotabato.

He said troops on Wednesday clashed with Macapaar’s group in Lanao’ Poona Piagapo and Munai towns and captured rebel weapons and improvised explosives left behind by MILF commander Lumundaya Mabuntal.

Mabuntal, alias Commander Topsider, is Macapaar’s most trusted aide and behind the spate of bombings of power pylons in the provinces, the colonel said.

“Mabuntal or Topsider, the most trusted henchman of Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo, is responsible for the series of bombing of Transco power line towers in the area,” De Leon said.

“The operations against rogue continue. The series of engagements and continuous law enforcement activities of the military had steadily stripped the (rebels) of their bases and logistics, drastically reducing their atrocious capability,” he said.

President Gloria Arroyo opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001, but suspended the negotiations last month because of the rebel attacks in Mindanao.

She demanded the MILF to surrender Kato, Macapaar and Pangalian before peace talks could resume. The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, rejected the demand. (With a report from Juan Magtanggol)

Troops raid refugee camp, seize 3 Muslims in Mindanao, MILF rebels say

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Photo: Gawad Kalinga Foundation Signs Housing Project in Datu Saudi Ampatuan Town

Mayor Saudi Ampatuan, Jr. of Datu Saudi Ampatuan Municipality signs the memorandum of agreement with PLDT Vice President for Visayas and Mindanao Jesus Tanedo and Rene Rieta of Gawad Kalinga Foundation for the construction of 120 units of socialized housing. (Photo by Omar Mangorsi)

Clan War Erupts In Southern RP

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 10, 2007) – Clan war between two Muslim groups have erupted Wednesday in the southern Philippines, forcing hundreds of villagers to flee their homes.

The fighting broke out in Kitango village in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province after former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels clashed with pro-government militia and police forces.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, has ordered its forces to stay away from the hostilities, Eid Kabalu, the group’s spokesman, said.

Kabalu said some MILF members, who have relatives from both warring groups, were dragged into the fighting. “We have ordered MILF members to stay out of trouble. Our concern now is how to help Muslim villagers displaced by the fighting,” he said.

He said there were no immediate reports of casualties, but the hostilities have affected the livelihood of villagers and were threatening their safety.

“Sporadic clashes are going on in the area and we are appealing to the two warring groups to cease fighting so villagers can return to their homes,” Kabalu said, adding, the skirmishes were probably triggered by a land feud.

The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996 while the MILF is still fighting for a separate Muslim homeland in the southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)