4 Dawlah men, soldier dead in Lanao Sur clash
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 17:45 PM Thu Jun 1, 2023
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By:
John M. Unson
The firearms and explosives seized from four dead members of the Dawlah Islamiya. (From Lanao del Sur PPO)
COTABATO CITY - Four local terrorists and a soldier were killed in a gunfight Thursday in Marogong town Lanao del Sur, just a week after an outlawed group threatened to attack villages in the area.
Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, confirmed Thursday that the clash between Army Scout Rangers and members of the Dawlah Islamiya in Barangay Piangologan in Marogong resulted in the death of four still unidentified members of the Dawlah Islamiya.
The gunfight erupted when terrorists opened fire at soldiers dispatched to check on reports of sightings by villagers of heavily-armed men roaming in Barangay Piangologan.
An Army Ranger, Pfc. Jemric Pol Contingo, died on the spot from a gunshot wound in the head.
Three other soldiers, Corporals Cronel Ducrao and Regi Macahilig and Pfc. Noel Notario were wounded in the ensuing encounter, according to separate reports from the Marogong Municipal Police Station and the Lanao del Sur Provincial Police Office.
The deadly clash came after the Dawlah Islamiya had threatened to attack the town center of Marogong if the police will not set free a number of members arrested for criminal offenses in a series of law-enforcement operations in recent weeks.
Some of the Dawlah Islamiya members the police had clamped down in detention facilities in Lanao del Sur were arrested for murder cases while others fell in anti-narcotics entrapment operations assisted by local government units in Lanao del Sur.