Pigcawayan, Biff rebels free hostages. Six dead

Attacks on military outposts at Barangay Malagakit and Barangay Simsiman. Islamist rebels repelled and fled to the marsh of Liguasan in Maguindanao. During the retreat a school building seized, 31 hostages freed. The military: The attack is not related to Marawi's siege.

Kidapawan (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The attack by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (Biff) on the village of Pigcawayan in the southern province of North Cotabato has concluded with the release of all hostages. At least six militants were killed, while eight others were injured in fighting with government troops.

Fighting started at 4 am yesterday, when about 250 Biff men attacked Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (Bpat) military outposts at Barangay Malagakit and Barangay Simsiman, concluding at 7pm when Islamist rebels fled to the marsh of Liguasan at Maguindanao.

Mayor Eliseo Gracesa said at least 73 residents, trapped in the village during the clashes, are now safe. Local government in Pigcawayan reported that during fighting between government security forces and Biff rebels, 62 families, or 244 people, fled Malagakit and 15 families, or 59 people, left their homes in the nearby village of Banacagon.

Repelled by soldiers in service in the outposts, rebels seized the villagers with the intent to use them as human shields. During the retreat, the Biff men occupied a school building from where they fired a few gunshots, according to Captain Arvin Encinas, spokesman for the local army.

During the pause in fighting, 31 people, including a dozen children, were allowed to flee from school. According to Nap Alcarioto, spokesman for the army brigade, six villagers remained in the hands of the rebels before they were released.

According to military sources, there is no reason to believe that the attack on Pigcawayan is part of an ISS-inspired attempt to open a new war front with the government to alleviate pressure on the Maute group clustered in Marawi. Pigcawayan is in fact 190 kilometers south of Marawi, too far away for a diversion attack.

The Biff is a terrorist paramilitary Islamist movement, born in 2008 from a split from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf) and based in the Mindanao region. It has a lesser role within the Moro conflict, with autonomous aspirations of the Muslim population of the southern Philippines, and mainly operates in the province of Maguindanao and in other central areas of the island.