ELEVEN members of the terrorist group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters BIFF (BIFF) have surrendered in North Cotabato, the military reported yesterday.
The AFP Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) named the 11 BIFF men by their aliases as Benzar, Lombie, Tenix, Boy, Abu Sumaya, Datu Nor, Nolds, Norhad, Pasyotan, Nasrudin, and Tamen.
Westmincom said the 11 surrendered last Saturday afternoon to troops of the Army’s 92nd Infantry Battalion at the battalion’s headquarters in Barangay Nicaan, Libungan town.
They handed over four 7.62mm sniper rifles, an M79 rifle, two Springfield Garand rifles, two Uzi 9mm submachine guns, and three rocket-propelled grenades.
Westmincom said the 11 surrendered due to the “continued conduct of decisive military operations” of the 92nd IB in North Cotabato against the terrorist group.
Relentless military operations against the BIFF have resulted in the killing, apprehension, and surrender of scores of its members over the past years, reducing the BIFF’s strength to less than a hundred.
The BIFF is blamed for numerous atrocities, including bombings. The group was established in 2010 and composed mainly of former members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which signed a peace agreement with the government in 2014.