2 soldiers, militiaman hurt in Maguindanao del Sur grenade blast

COTABATO CITY—Two soldiers and a militiaman were hurt when a suspected member of the Dawlah Islamiya hurled a grenade at their roadside detachment in Barangay Timbangan in Shariff Kabunsuan, Maguindanao del Sur on Monday night.

In separate reports released on Wednesday morning, the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office and the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade separately confirmed the incident that caused panic among villagers residing near the detachment. 

Major Saber Balogan, civil-military operations officer of the 601st Infantry Brigade, said two soldiers, Staff Sgt. Jester Arsulo and Sgt. Bryan Baylon, both of the 33rd Infantry Battalion, and a member of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit, Nor Akmad, were injured in the explosion.

They sustained shrapnel wounds in different parts of their bodies.

Local officials and traditional Moro leaders had told reporters that the bombing was a desperate attempt to create an impression that the surrender in batches last year of 287 Dawlah Islamiya members from different towns in Maguindanao del Sur has not weakened the group's capability to perpetrate terror attacks anywhere in the province.

The 287 terrorists, who yielded to the Army’s 6th Infantry Division through the joint intercession of its units in Maguindanao del Sur and local executives, had been reintroduced to mainstream society.