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| Southeast Asia |
| Gunmen storm Pigcawayan school, take hostages |
| 2017-06-21 |
| [Al Jazeera] Gunmen have stormed a school in a village close to Pigcawayan town, southern Philippines, according to police. Suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters ...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State... (BIFF) group were engaged in a shootout with security forces, Chief Inspector Realan Mamon said in a radio interview on Wednesday. "We can confirm that they occupied a school and there were civilians trapped. We are in the process of determining how many were trapped and their identities," Mamon said. Eliseo Garcesa, mayor of Pigcawayan town, told Philippine radio he was still seeking information about possible casualties. Pigcawayan is in North Cotabato province in the centre of Mindanao island. President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of emergency on the southern island last month after ISIS-linked fighters laid siege on Marawi City, some 190km north of Pigcawayan. |
| Posted by:Fred |