57th IB personnel foil BIFF bombing plot
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 14:45 PM Mon Nov 25, 2019
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By:
John M. Unson
Photo courtesy of 6th ID
MAGUINDANAO --- Servicemen of the 57th Infantry Battalion foiled a plot by the Dawlah Islamiya terror group to sabotage Sunday’s “Sinugba Festival” in Midsayap town in North Cotabato.
Soldiers belonging to the unit seized the day before materials for improvised explosive devices and two ready-to-use IEDs in a hideout of the Dawlah Islamiya, also known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, in Barangay Inaladan in Shariff Saidona, Maguindanao.
The explosives were recovered after a brief encounter that forced the terrorists to scamper away.
Soldiers also found ammonium nitrate and potassium chlorate, main ingredients for IED blasting powder, in the abandoned Dawlah Islamiya lair.
The 57th IB’s pre-emptive operation was launched after receiving reports that bombers were to sabotage Sunday’s Sinugba Festival in nearby Midsayap town, less than 20 kilometers north of Shariff Saidona.
The event, attended by no fewer than 3,000 spectators, among then North Cotabato Gov. Nancy Catamco, proceeded as organized without any problem.