MILF rebels bomb bridge, burn houses in Maguindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels on Tuesday bombed a bridge and raided a village in Maguindanao province, the military said. Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the gunmen destroyed the bridge before dawn in the village of Lintokan in Datu Piang town. Rebels also torched houses on a nearby village of Reina Regente, forcing residents to flee the rampage. There were no immediate reports of civilian casualties, but the military blamed the attacks on a senior MILF leader, Ameril Kato, who also led a series of deadly attacks last year in the region. “He said security forces were tracking down the rebels. “The rebels are desperate and even Muslim communities are being attacked, especially those which are not sympathetic to their cause. This is a clear manifestation of terrorism in the region," Ponce said. Counterattack The MILF said the bombing of the bridge was part of a counter-attack. It denied that rebels burned houses of civilians. “We have nothing to do with the burning of the houses, but rebel forces bombed the bridge – it was part of a counter-attack against the military, which have targeted the innocent Muslims in their offensives," said Eid kabalu, a senior MILF leader. Kabalu said rebels forces also attacked Tuesday morning another military target in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, also in Maguindanao province. He said the military launched a series of offensives that targeted the MILF, but Ponce said the attacks were aimed at capturing Kato’s group. Security forces were also tracking down two other MILF leaders, Abdurahman Macapaar and Sulayman Panglian, who were blamed by the military and police for the string of attacks in Mindanao since last year after the seven-year old peace talks between the rebels and the government collapsed. On Sunday, MILF rebels fired anti-rockets at the positions of the Army’s 54th Infantry Battalion in the village of Datu Gumbay in Datu Piang town. The MILF said it was targeting the 105mm cannons and munitions storage of the soldiers. Rebel forces also attacked government troops earlier in the day in the village of Teren-Teren in North Cotabato’s Alamada town and three other areas in the towns of Banisilan, Aleosan and Midsayap. There was no immediate statement from the governor of Maguindanao, Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan, or his brother Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, who is also the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanaoa (ARMM). Both are fierce rivals of the MILF. Last month, two civilians were wounded at market bombing blamed to the MILF in Sultan Kudarat’s Lebak town and another bombing of a bridge in Iligan City. Manila opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001, but the negotiations collapsed in August after government negotiators reneged on a deal that would grant some Muslims a separate homeland across more than 700 villages in Mindanao. The Supreme Court said the deal was unconstitutional. - Al Jacinto, GMANews.TV