Suspected members of the terrorist group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) attacked a police station in Barangay Dulawan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao on Thursday night, December 3, according to the military commander in Western Mindanao.
Gunshots were heard from the local police station at around 11 pm as the suspected BIFF attackers “harassed” cops on duty, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jr told Rappler past midnight on Friday, December 4.
Reinforcements from the 6th Infantry Battalion under the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division arrived within 15 minutes, and the BIFF attackers scampered away, Vinluan said.
The attackers burned a police patrol car. No casualties were reported, the military general said.
Troops of the AFP’s Joint Task Force Central, in charge of Central Mindanao, are on heightened alert and in hot pursuit of the perpetrators.
The BIFF is the target of ongoing military offensives in the area, and it may have attempted the attack in Datu Piang to divert the military’s attention, Vinluan said.
The BIFF is one of several extremist groups based in Mindanao with factions linked to the Islamic State or ISIS terrorist network. – with reports from Taj Basman and Rambo Talabong/Rappler.com