KORONADAL CITY – Government forces foiled an attempt by suspected Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) gunmen to blow up on Saturday a bridge linking Maguindanao and North Cotabato, a military commander said Sunday.
Lt. Col. Angelo Lutera, commander of the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion, said they immediately responded after receiving a report that BIFF gunmen had strapped a bomb on the bridge in Barangay Olandang in Midsayap, North Cotabato.
The bridge connects Midsayap to Datu Piang in Maguindanao.
“Our bomb experts defused the bomb fashioned from a live 105-millimeter projectile,” Lutera said by phone.
He said the bombing attempt could be part of the BIFF’s retaliatory moves after suffering from a massive military operation in Maguindanao.
At least 13 BIFF gunmen were reportedly killed in the operation while nine others have surrendered since April 9.
On Friday, five more BIFF gunmen were arrested during a sweep in Barangay Tual in Paglat town, also in Maguindanao.