Soldier's wife hurt in BIFF attack in Midsayap village

MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato -- Police and
military forces here will retain its alert status as threats of harassment from
lawless elements, including drug syndicates, remain, a police official today
said.

Supt. Bernard Tayong, town police chief, said
soldiers from the 34th Infantry Battalion and Midsayap PNP will continue to
implement checkpoints in areas identified to be crime and conflict prone,
especially in the borders of Midsayap and Datu Piang in Maguindanao.

On New Year's Eve, suspected members of the outlawed
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) harassed an Army base in Barangay
Nabalawag, Midsayap which left one woman slightly injured.

Tayong said about 30 BIFF members, led by Commander
Tato Pauya and Commander Tong, traded shots with elements of the 34th IB until
about 1 a.m. on New Year's Day.

Tayong said the wife of the soldier, identified as
Norcel Bulay-Bulay, was hit by shrapnel in her heard.

When the soldiers retaliated, the gunmen fled back
to Datu Piang. Nabalawag is the last
barangay of Midsayap before the boundary with Datu Piang.

Bulay-Bulay was rushed by soldiers to Amado Diaz
hospital in POblacion Midsayap and later transferred to Cotabato Regional and
Medical Center in Cotabato City.

It was not clear if the BIFF suffered casualties
during the two-hour long sporadic exchange of bullets.

Midsayap has been repeatedly attacked by BIFF and
drug syndicates the past months, the latest of which was the Christmas Eve
grenade attack on a police patrol car that left 17 injured, including a police
officer.

Police believed the attack was not directed at the
Church but for the police in retaliation to its successful anti-illegal drug
campaign.

Another band of BIFF also harassed an Army base in
nearby Barangay Elian in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao. No casualty was
reported. (Edwin O. Fernandez)