[Gulf Today] At least 20 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters were killed in a combined ground and artillery attack in an attempt to dislodge them from several villages they had occupied in North Cotabato province.Captain Calvin Macatangay said that the 20 slain BIFF militants were based on an actual body count culled from intelligence reports as well as on reports from residents and the MILF. He said the campaign succeeded in retaking five villages in the town of Pikit, which were occupied by the BIFF for more than one week.
Macatangay said, "It was a law enforcement operation done with the help of the police and patriotic public officials," adding that the BIFF set fire to about 20 houses in one of the villages they had occupied.