2 arrested in Maguindanao attack on Army detachment

Two suspected Moro rebels believed to be involved in Monday’s attack on an Army detachment and the subsequent ambuscade of responding troops in Maguindanao province were arrested on Tuesday, a Mindanao-based police official said. Superintendent Danilo Bacas, operations chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Police, identified the two as Bobby Tomas, 19, and Noli Mao, 20, both allegedly members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) 104th Brigade. Bacas said the two were nabbed at Barangay Tinungkaan in Upi town, Maguindanao at about 6:30 a.m. The two were believed to be part of the group that fired a mortar at an Army camp in Barangay Kibleg in Upi town and the subsequent ambuscade of responding bomb and forensic experts last Monday. The attacks resulted in the death of a government militiaman and the wounding of five soldiers, including Army officer Capt. Francis Senoron. Bacas did not give details on how the two were arrested but said the operation was carried out by operatives of the Upi Municipal Police and soldiers from the 6th Infantry Battalion. Seized from the suspects were a hand grenade and a caliber .22 rifle. “They are now under the custody of the Upi Police for interrogation and further investigation for filing of appropriate charges," Bacas said. Monday’s attacks occurred while government forces in Mindanao were on heightened alert in connection with the recent spate of bombings in the region, killing a total of seven people and wounding dozens of others. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu had denied his group’s involvement in the bombings. - GMANews.TV