5 killed, 3 wounded in fresh clashes in southern Philippines

COTABATO CITY - Government troops killed three local ISIS fighters in fierce clashes that left one soldier and a civilian dead and three more wounded in the Muslim province of Lanao del Sur in southern Philippines, police said Friday.

Police said the civilian was caught in the crossfire, however it was unclear who shot him, while a woman and two children were rescued by soldiers during the fighting Wednesday evening, May 31, in the village of Piangolongn in Marogong town, where the extremist group Dawlah Islamiya, earlier threatened to attack following the capture of four fighters recently.

Photos released by the Lanao del Sur provincial police office show the recovered weapons of pro-ISIS group Dawlah Islamiya following deadly clashes on May 31, 2023 in Marogong town that killed three militants.

Col. Robert Daculan, commander of the provincial police force, inspected the area on Thursday, June 1, said members of the Dawlah Islamiya under Abu Zacharia clashed with army troops from the 3rd, 7th and 9th Scout Ranger Companies.

Daculan did not say how many Islamists were involved in the fighting or how troops tracked down the enemies, but security forces recovered four automatic rifles, rifle grenades and ammunition, including an improvised explosive and a bomb diagram, among other items from the slain militants.

"The Provincial Forensic Unit processed the cadaver of the three DI-MG members while that of the crossfire victim was claimed by immediate relatives for proper disposition," Daculan said.

Security forces heightened its security in the restive region of Mindanao following fresh threats of attacks from pro-ISIS militants, blamed by authorities for the series of bombings and killings in the South. 

 

The threats were made following the recent capture of four young fighters of the Dawlah Islamiya (DI) - Arabic words for Islamic State - in the town on May 25. Security officials said intelligence provided by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led to the capture of the militants in Pabrika village.

 

The MILF, in a rare operation, joined security forces in capturing the Islamists, but the threats of attacks in retaliation to the arrest of the four young men - two of them 18 years old and the other pair 14 and 16 - sparked an exodus of civilians in the town. One of the fighters, Saidi, is the younger brother of Dawlah Islamiya sub-leader known only by his nom de guerre Abu Sham, according to Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the Joint Task Force ZamPeLan.

  

He said the four captured fighters were all under Juhari Sandab, whose group is operating in the province. "Accordingly, they were waiting for supplies and foodstuffs coming from their supporters in the area," the officer said, adding, soldiers also seized weapons and explosives from the four fighters.

 

Among the seized weapons were one M14 rifle, one M16A1 rifle, one Remington R4 rifle, one M1903 Springfield rifle, M203 grenade launcher and five 40mm grenades; including five improvised explosives and assorted magazines and ammunition.

 

The MILF signed a peace deal with the government in 2014, but despite the accord, the members of the former rebel group are still heavily armed and continue to maintain dozens of strongholds in the region.  The Dawlah Islamiya considers the MILF a rival and branded its members as "apostate Moro militia" and declared a total war with them.It also attacked MILF targets in the neighboring town province of Maguindanao on May 13. 

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) which monitors, tracks, translates, researches, and analyzes cyber jihad originating from the Middle East, Iran, South Asia, and North and West Africa, reported that members of the "Islamic State East Asia Province" (ISEAP) claimed responsibility for the May 13 attack against MIF positions with machine guns in the village of Tuayan in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town in the neighboring province of Maguindanao causing MILF members to flee. ISEAP fighters also burned the MILF positions and seized an anti-tank rocket launcher. (Mindanao Examiner)