Troops kill 4 bus bombers (Contains graphic image)

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Government soldiers tracked down and killed four pro-ISIS militants, including their leader, tagged as behind the bombing of a provincial bus in the South that killed a minor and wounded six others, officials said Sunday.

A photo released by the 6th Infantry Division shows the bodies of the slain Dawlah Islamiya in Carmen town in North Cotabato province. 

Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of the Joint Task Force Central Mindanao and 6th Infantry Division, said troops raided the hideout of the militant group Dawlah Islamiya and killed its emir Norodin Hassan, alias Andot; and three other gunmen in North Cotabato’s Carmen town on Saturday.

 

He said two of the slain gunmen were identified as Abdonillah and Abdonhack Hassan and the third remains unknown. “The death of alias Andot and three of his cohort only shows that justice is given to the victims of the Mindanao Star Bus bombing,” Uy said, referring to the January 11 attack in Aleosan town in North Cotabato (not South Cotabato as previously reported.)

 

Uy did not say how many soldiers were involved in the operation or how the military tracked down the bombers, but he claimed the Dawlah Islamiya emir was the mastermind of the attack. Hassan’s group - which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State - planted the bomb under a seat and exploded while the bus was travelling in Aleosan town.

 

“Our continuous effort to go after these terrorist groups has been unyielding. There will be no let-up and slowing down against these terrorists who continue to attack civilian populace, properties, and communities. Together let us stand against these terrorist groups. In due time we will defeat them and the people of Central Mindanao will finally realize the peace and security that they longed for,” Uy said.

 

Col. Jovencio Gonzales, commander of 602^nd Infantry Brigade, who commanded the operation, said troops recovered numerous firearms and war materials at the Dawlah Islamiya hideout. “After we identified the perpetrators who are responsible for the bombing, we immediately launched the manhunt operation in order to prevent them from doing similar atrocities in other areas thus preventing further loss of lives and damaged to properties,” Gonzales said without further elaborating.

 

Lt. Col. Bernard Tayong, a police spokesman, also issued a statement after reporters quoted the police as saying the bombing was perpetrated by the criminal gang called Al Khobar. 

“Wala pong katotohanan ang mga kumakalat na mga balita na ang Al Khobar ang nasa likod ng pagpapasabog sa isang bus sa Aleosan, North Cotabato. It’s just very disappointing that some media outlets quoted us as the source of the said information. It is unfortunate as well that some people from the press have the temerity of putting words in the mouth of the police,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)