MILF denies any role in Lanao del Sur ambush

The secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Wednesday denied any role in the ambush on government forces in Lanao del Sur that killed a soldier and wounded five others. A senior military official of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces denied claims that one Commander Delta Force of MILF led the ambush. "Commander Delta Force is known as a lawless element in Lanao del Sur and also enemy of [the] MILF," an unnamed MILF official was quoted as saying in an article posted on the group's website. Delta Force is the principal suspect in the abduction of the son of Commission on Elections Commissioner Elias Yusoph. One soldier was killed while five others were wounded in the ambush at Poona Piagapo in Lanao del Sur. (See: 1 soldier killed, 5 others hurt in Lanao Sur attack) "The MILF has nothing to do with the ambush on the government soldiers on board a vehicle traversing Barangay Gata, Poona Piagapo and Delta Force is not and had never been a commander of MILF," the unnamed MILF official said. On the other hand, the MILF official did not speculate on the motive of the ambushers. The military earlier said the attack could be a diversionary tactic to deceive government forces on the actual location of Nuraldin Yusoph, who was seized June 20 by unidentified men who reportedly sought the nullification of certain votes in Lanao del Sur. To date, the young Yusoph is still in the hands of his abductors. — RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV