Soldier, 5 Dawlah gunmen killed in Lanao Sur encounters
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 07:30 AM Fri Apr 29, 2022
1
By:
John M. Unson
MARAWI CITY--- A soldier and five Dawlah Islamiya gunmen were killed while four others were wounded in gunfights yesterday in Butig, Lanao del Sur.
In a report Friday, the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade here identified the slain soldier as Corporal Rutenvic Jaralve of the 5th Infantry Battalion.
Another soldier, name withheld pending notification of family, was also reportedly wounded in yesterday’s clashes between 5th IB servicemen and Dawlah Islamiya members in Barangay Ragayan in Butig town in Lanao del Sur.
Butig was the hometown of the slain siblings Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute, founders of the Mauter terror group that instigated the bloody March 23 to October 16, 2017 conflict in Marawi City.
Traditional Maranao community leaders told reporters five members of the Dawlah Islamiya, initially identified only as Sariguidan, Ipad, Salman, Undih and Sahidi, were killed in the series of encounters in Barangay Ragayan.
Lt. Col. Romulus Rabara, commanding officer of the 5th IB, said Friday their anti-terror operation in Barangay Ragayan was premised on reports by residents about the presence in the area of Dawlah Islamiya terrorists.
Rabara said the skirmishes erupted when terrorists opened fire on soldiers approaching their hideout in Barangay Ragayan from two directions.
The gunfights waned only after the heavily-armed terrorists scampered away when two AW109 attack helicopters hovered above them and provided soldiers with aerial fire support.
The Dawlah Islamiya members left four assault rifles, a shoulder-mount rocket launcher and a dozen 40 millimeter grenade projectiles that can be fired from an M203 rifle, and other provisions, as they fled in haste carrying their five dead companions.
Three other Dawlah Islamiya members were wounded in the ensuing encounters, according to local officials.