MARAWI CITY, Philippines, 20 July — Eight fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were killed and a separatist commander was captured in a clash with government forces in the southern province of Lanao del Sur yesterday, officials from both sides said.
Both the military and the MILF confirmed that the leader of the separatist group was cornered by army soldiers during the encounter.
The fighting erupted when soldiers, who were on patrol in Poona Bayabao town, 840 kilometers south of Manila, encountered some 30 MILF fighters.
The military counted seven separatists dead but the MILF said there were eight. An MILF battle report said two of their fighters were also wounded.
It also claimed that four of the soldiers were killed and several others were injured.
Col. Danilo Servando, an information officer of military’s Southern Command, mentioned no casualty on their side.
Servando said troops recovered five M-16 armalite rifles, one M-203 grenade launcher, a Russian-made SIG and three M-14 rifles left behind by the fleeing rebels.
The military also did not name the captured guerrilla leader but the MILF report identified him as Commander Jamael Taha, currently the MILF municipal chairman in Poona Bayabao.
The report accused elements of the Philippine Army’s 29th Infantry Battalion, led by a Lieutenant Tinay, of assaulting the position of Taha.
Among those reported killed were Salem Kampong, Mangontawar Kampong, Hairodin Abad, Abdul Jamael, Kamlon Jamael, Olowa Talib, Pandao Paner, and Ansari Taha, said the report.
It said the raiding team brought Commander Jamael Taha to the army’s headquarters in Marawi City.
“Relatives of the slain victims have theorized that the incident has something to do with local politics rooted from personal grudge. They suspect that the military might have been bribed by moneyed politicians,” the report said.
It noted that on Monday, a group of armed men ambushed a truck owned by Jamael Taha, killing two of his sisters and a brother and injuring five others.
“A committee of the MILF’s cease-fire panel has directed a Local Monitoring Team (LMT) in the area to conduct the necessary investigation and find out truth about this disturbing incident,” said the report. The government and the MILF has a standing cease-fire agreement signed last year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
But sporadic clashes continue to erupt between MILF elements and soldiers, reportedly as a result of feuds between local groups allied with soldiers and the separatist group.
