4 more Dawlah Islamiya gunmen wounded in Maguindanao skirmishes
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 12:30 PM Mon Mar 9, 2020
1
By:
John M. Unson
COTABATO CITY - Four more members of the Dawlah Islamiya were wounded in a spate of clashes with soldiers in upland areas in Maguindanao province from Saturday until early Sunday.
Army units under the 601st Brigade of the 6th Infantry Division have cleared from occupation by Dawlah Islamiya bandits more than ten small makeshift encampments in the hinterland border of Ampatuan and Datu Hoffer towns in Maguindanao following a series of gunfights that started on March 2.
Local officials and barangay leaders in both towns told reporters Monday four more terrorists, Kasim Undih, Madzid Salik, Salilaguia Tangan and Thong Sangid, were injured in clashes with pursuing soldiers in Upper Salman and Tuayan areas in the upland boundary of Ampatuan and Datu Hoffer towns in the second district of Maguindanao.
At least nine Dawlah Islamiya gunmen were confirmed injured in preceding firefights.
Citing reports by senior members of municipal peace and order councils in Maguindanao, the Western Mindanao Command said Saturday 14 terrorists were killed in the March 2 to 5 clashes with soldiers dispatched to restore government control over areas where terrorists built shelters and trenches where they assembled improvised explosive devices.
The Dawlah Islamiya, also known as the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, was tagged in all bombings in central Mindanao in the past five years.
The targets of last week’s anti-terror operation of the 601st Brigade led by Col. Jose Narciso were followers of the wanted Dawlah Islamiya bomb-maker Salahudin Hassan.
He is facing a number of criminal cases in different courts for his alleged roles in recent deadly bombings in central Mindanao, including three attacks in Sultan Kudarat province from between 2018 to 2019.
Fourteen of his followers, two of them Imams, were killed as soldiers broke through their positions in Upper Salman and Tuayan areas last week.
Four soldiers, Privates 1st Class Willy Tingzon and Dexter Jay Hierro, Cpl. Albert Serquina and Sgt. Alvin Albaristine, were killed in the ensuing skirmishes.