ZAMBOANGA CITY — Three high-caliber assault firearms and five explosives were recovered by soldiers of the 6th Infantry “Redskin” Battalion (IB) after an encounter with an armed group in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao del Sur.

Lt. Col. Al Victor C. Burkley, commanding officer of the 6th IB, disclosed on Monday that the soldiers were patrolling the inner forested areas of Barangay Pagatin I in Shariff Saydona Mustapha when three armed men fired at them at around 1:32 p.m. on Sunday.

A firefight immediately ensued, forcing the three armed men to escape in different directions, leaving behind their firearms.

The soldiers immediately scoured the encounter site and found a .30-caliber sniper rifle, one Garand rifle, one RPG (rocket-propelled grenade launcher), five rifle grenades, magazines and ammunition.

Following the encounter, 601st Infantry Brigade Commander Brig. Gen. Edgar L. Catu immediately deployed all units to conduct a hot pursuit operation against the group.

Joint Task Force (JTF)-Central commander Brig. Gen. Donald M. Gumiran commended the troops of the 6th IB for their quick action and for successfully suppressing the threat of violence against civilians.

“First of all, a gun ban exists now. So it’s clearly against the law to carry any weapon, and firing at our soldiers is another violation, so we have to conduct a hot pursuit against them,” Gumiran said.

On Saturday, about 40 high-caliber guns were surrendered and turned over to the 601st Infantry “Unifier” Brigade in Barangay Kamasi in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao del Sur.

Catu presented the high-powered firearms to Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Mindanao Command Commander Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Nafarrete and Maj. Gen. Donald M. Gumiran, commander of the 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division.

Among the weapons surrendered were seven M14 7.62mm rifles, six M16 5.56mm rifles, five Garand Cal. 30 rifles, two Ultimax 5.56mm rifles, two Bushmaster 5.56mm rifles, two Carbine 5.56mm M4 rifles, and two improvised M79 grenade launchers.

Meanwhile, there was a single surrendered improvised Garand Cal. 30 rifle, Carbine rifle, Carbine sniper rifle, improvised Carbine rifle, M4 5.56mm rifle, M653 5.56mm rifle, HMG Cal. 50 Barrett (two regular and one improvised), 57RR rifle, 60mm mortar, M203 grenade launcher, SMG Uzi submachine gun and improvised 12-gauge shotgun.