Army: 3 killed in MILF attack in Lanao del Norte

Three soldiers were killed while three others were wounded in an attack Sunday blamed on Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Norte. Acting Army spokesman Maj. Harold Cabunoc said the casualties were from the 5th Infantry Battalion under Lt. Col. Bagnus Gaerlan, who was unharmed in the attack. “Identities of the assailants are unknown but the MILF has forces roaming around in the area," said Cabunoc, referring to Barangay Payong in Sultan Naga Dimaporo town. The attack occurred less than a week after a clash between government troops and the MILF in Basilan left 19 soldiers dead, the biggest number of fatalities suffered by the military in nearly five years. Also on Sunday, an ambush believed to be perpetrated by the MILF, also in Basilan, left five people, four of them civilians, dead. Cabunoc said the MILF attack in Lanao del Norte was uncalled for as the troops were not in a rebel territory, or the MILF’s Area of Temporary Stay. “They (MILF) don’t have Area of Temporary Stay in that town," said Cabunoc. Cabunoc said Col. Ricardo Visaya, commander of the 104th Brigade, has dispatched a platoon of reinforcements backed by armored vehicles to the site of the attack. — KBK, GMA News