TWO members of the terrorist group Daulah Islamiyah (DI) were killed and two others were injured and apprehended in a firefight with government troops in Maguindanao del Sur last Sunday.
The slain and arrested DI members were said to be among those behind the killing of three goat dealers in Shariff Saydona Mustapha town in Maguindanao del Sur last month.
The Army’s 6th Infantry Division named the slain DI members as Tahir Salim Suweb, 41; and Benladin Adi Kamid, 23; members of the DI Hassan Group.
Injured and arrested were Junjun Kayogen Leosen, 37; and Rasul Mendoza Kariman, 31; who were brought by soldiers to two different hospitals for treatment.
Troops from the Army’s 6th Infantry Battalion and other units under the 601st Brigade were conducting a combat operation at around 1 a.m. in Barangay Libutan in Mamasapano town when they clashed with DI members.
Soldiers recovered war materials at the encounter site, including two M16A1 rifles, a cal. 45 pistol, and bomb components.
Brig. Gen. Edgar Catu, commander of the Army’s 601st Brigade, ordered troops to conduct relentless pursuit operations against the fleeing terrorists.
“The slain and the injured terrorists and their companions who managed to escape were directly involved in the killing of three businessmen from Batangas,” said Catu, referring to goat dealers Jhon Luis Olarte, Gerry Ortega, and Ronald Alumno.
The victims last communicated with their relatives on May 11 when they were supposed to deliver 11 hybrid goats to a buyer in the province.
Their bodies were discovered at a shallow grave in Barangay Nabundas, in Shariff Saydona town, also in Maguindanao del Sur, on May 30 with multiple gunshot wounds.
Catu said the suspects were behind other killings, including that of four soldiers who died in an ambush in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town, also in Maguindanao del Sur, in March last year.
Maj. Gen. Donald Gumiran, 6th ID commander, said the successful operation effectively saved the lives of innocent civilians in Maguindanao del Sur.
“Due to the prompt response of our soldiers, we prevented the plan of the local terrorists to sow terror in this peaceful area in Mindanao,” said Gumiran.
