JOINT PROBE TO BE CONDUCTED

Military: No troops operating when mortar shell hit house in Maguindanao

A joint investigation will be conducted on the explosion incident  in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao on Sunday which left two children killed and their mother injured.

According to Western Mindanao Command spokesman Major Arvin Encinas on Monday, the probe will be conducted by the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division and the Philippine National Police.

In a statement, the 6th Infantry Division insisted that there were no operating troops in the area when the incident had transpired as government forces were respecting the observance of the Feast of Ramadan.

"We have no operating troops in the area when the incident happened as we respect the Holy Ramadan," the 6th Infantry Division said.

Soldiers also claimed that some local terrorists were within the area of the incident placing improvised explosive devices.

"There is an existing rido in the area wherein there were reported casualties. The ISIS-inspired terrorist leaders were sighted in the place of incident and were likewise reported laying IEDs as their perimeter defense when the explosion happened," the 6th ID said.

"We are conducting investigations together with the PNP and other neutral entities," the military added.

A 10-year-old girl and her seven-year-old brother were killed when a mortar shell believed to be an 81-mm bomb exploded in their house. The incident also seriously injured their mother, who is now at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City.

Eight more individuals were wounded in the incident, earlier reports said.

According to Datu Saudi Ampatuan town administrator Musib Tan, a firefight was heard in nearby Barangay Ilian where troops from the 57th Infantry Battalion had a gun battle with alleged members of the Dawlah Islamiya Mindanao and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

"Four of the military detachment in the area were simultaneously harassed every day and night. The military told me it would be impossible they could make mistakes in coordinates as they aimed it only in enemy position," Tan said. — RSJ, GMA News