One soldier was killed while two others and several civilians were injured on Monday, when rebels of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) Muslim guerrillas attempted to take over army outposts in the tumultuous Mindanao Island, south of the Philippines.
Three of the Muslim rebels were also killed following the attack, reported Colonel Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the military outpost in the vicinity.
Hermoso said that the bold attack, which took place at midnight, came after the BIFF rebels instigated a black propaganda campaign, pitting the public against the military. He explained that the rebels had accused the soldiers of kidnapping a Muslim father and son.
“They resorted to absurd propaganda to discredit the military. The BIFF is using radio and the social media for its propaganda. These are baseless allegations,” he said.
As such, the military is on the alert for similar attacks from the rebel group, Hermoso added.
Meanwhile, Abu Misry Mama, BIFF spokesman, said that the attack was payback for the purported kidnapping which took place on July 3.
The BIFF, an armed Muslim rebel group opposed to the peace accord with the government, broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the main Muslim rebel group, in 2008.