Soldier killed in latest BIFF attacks in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO --- Another soldier was killed while two villagers were hurt Tuesday in separate roadside bombings by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.Private 1stClass Ian Chris Celeste, of the 57thInfantry Battalion, died on the spot from multiple shrapnel wounds.In a report to the Army’s 6thInfantry Division Wednesday, the 601stBrigade said Celeste and companions were patrolling on a hill in Barangay Maitemaig in Datu Unsay town near Mt. Firis when a roadside bomb went off along their route.The 57thIB, a unit of the 601stBrigade, is locked in a deadly showdown since December 25 with the Islamic State-inspired BIFF forces trying to dislodge non-Muslim indigenous Teduray villagers in Mt. Firis.Mt. Firis is a centuries-old ancestral domain of upland Teduray communities that rely mainly on farming as means of livelihood.The explosion that killed Celeste was preceded by a blast after dawn Tuesday along a stretch of a highway in Barangay Labu-Labu in Datu Hoffer that hurt three hitchhikers on a truck.The 601stBrigade said in its report to 6thID’s commander, Major Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, that the target of the bombing could be personnel of the Army’s 11thMechanized Company patrolling at stretches of the thoroughfare in Datu Hoffer regularly.Celeste was the second BIFF bombing fatality in a span of 10 days.A police officer,SPO4 Max Kaibat, died from a roadside explosion on January 1 at the border of Maguindanao’s adjoining Shariff Aguak and Datu Hoffer towns.Kaibat and five other members of the Shariff Aguak municipal police were on a vehicle en route to a secluded area for a security mission when an improvised explosive device went off along the road, killing him on the spot.All five of his companions were injured in the powerful blast, still confined in a hospital.Dela Vega, who has tactical control over Army units trying to neutralize the BIFF, said they are expecting more attacks by the group to avenge the deaths of members in a series of encounters with soldiers in the surroundings of Mt. Firis last the weekend.Senior members of the municipal peace and order councils of Maguindanao towns surrounding Mt. Firis said 11 BIFF gunmen were killed in a series of gunfights with pursuing soldiers on Saturday.The sources said among them were bomb-makers Salah and Magie, who were both trained by slain Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, most known as Marwan, in fabrication and handling of IEDs.