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BIFF sub-leader killed in Cotabato


A sub-leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) was killed in a joint military and police operation in Aleosan town in North Cotabato last week.

BIFF sub-leader and bomb-making expert Buds Basilan, who is number 209 in the wanted list under Martial Law Instruction No. 1, series of 2017 and number 120 in the military's Periodic Status Report, was killed in a firefight with elements of the 34th Infrantry Battalion and the Aleosan police at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Major General Arnel Delavega, commander of the Joint Task Force Central, said the military and police have been tracking Basilan and was about to apprehend him when he shot at the authorities, resulting in the encounter.

"Basilan, who is under the BIFF’s Karialan Faction, was responsible in the manufacture of bombs and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) which affected the areas of Aleosan, Midsayap and Carmen of North Cotabato," Delavega said.

"His neutralization will definitely weaken his subgroup that is operating mostly in the province,” he added.

Joint Task Force Central has intensified its operations against BIFF and other terrorist groups in Central Mindanao following the liberation of Marawi City from the ISIS-inspired Maute group and the extension of President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in Mindanao.

Lieutenant General Carlito Galvez Jr., chief of the Armed Forces' Western Mindanao Command, said a total of 68 BIFF members have been killed in Central Mindanao in the first quarter of 2018. —Erwin Colcol/ALG, GMA News

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