Google map of the neighboring towns of Shariff Aguak and Ampatuan, Maguindanao province.
CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – A 44-year-old farmer lost his leg and sustained shrapnel injuries after he accidentally stepped on an anti-personnel mine that exploded in the mountains bordering Shariff Aguak and Ampatuan towns in Maguindanao on Monday.
Major Erwin Tabora, Shariff Aguak town police chief, identified the victim as Ricky Biang, of Barangay Saniag, Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
“The victim sustained blast wounds in his legs and body,” Tabor said in an interview by a local radio station on Tuesday.
Biang was seen Monday morning heading toward the upland communities in the borders of Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak, the site of clashes between government forces and the Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) the past few days.
“He was bringing food supplies to displaced families as a result of the fighting,” Tabora said.
Civilians and responding soldiers rushed the victim to the Maguindanao provincial hospital in Shariff Aguak where he remains under observation by doctors. (PNA)
