Thursday, December 04, 2008 3 'Moro rebels' nabbed in Lanao encounter By Richelieu Umel
ILIGAN CITY -- Army troops captured three Moro rebels in a fresh encounter in Lanao del Norte that also wounded five government troops Tuesday.
The hour-long firefight in Barangay Kiasar, Tagoloan town in Lanao del Norte started when the Army's 8th Infantry Battalion sent troops to check on Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters who were sighted by locals in the area, an Army official said.
Colonel Nicanor Dolojan, commander of the 403rd Brigade, said the MILF members were sighted at the area a day after the International Monitoring Team (IMT) ended its peace mission in Central Mindanao.
The Army official claimed that the MILF rebels - numbering around 50 - were planning to attack the hinterland villages of Iligan City.
He said artillery rounds were fired on MILF position after the firefight, forcing the rebels to withdraw.
The wounded Army troopers were brought to an Army hospital in Camp Edilberto Evangelista hospital in Cagayan de Oro City, Dolojan said.
Evacuees return home
More than 500 families displaced in the August 18 attacks in Lanao del Norte towns have also started returning to their respective villages in Munai town Tuesday, said Provincial Board Member Cassan Maquiling.
Maquiling, who heads the provincial board's peace and order committee, said the evacuees returned to their respective villages after the military and Munai local officials assured their safety.
He said each family were given 25 kilos of rice, kitchen utensils and other relief supplies from Act for Peace of the United Nations (UN), Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) in Northern Mindanao, Provincial Government, Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) and Ranao Disaster Rehabilitation Resource Assistance Center Inc.
Another firefight
Last Monday, the 32nd Infantry Battalion also reported a brief encounter between Civilian Volunteer Organization and a suspected MILF group under a certain commander Abu Hanip, a deputy brigade commander of Abdullah Macapaar alias commander Bravo.
The encounter, which occurred in Barangay Buntong, Salvado town, recorded no casualty.
Colonel Benito De Leon, commanding officer of the Army's 104th Brigade based in Iligan City, urged military commanders to strengthen security measures in civilian populace.
