A SUB-LEADER of the terrorist group Daulah Islamiyah (DI) surrendered on Wednesday in Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat amid the intensified operation by government troops, the military reported yesterday.
Khalid Kalaing, alias Commander Khalid, turned over five rifles when he surrendered to officials of the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion at around 10 a.m., according to Lt. Col. John Paul Baldomar, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao.
Baldomar said Kalaing used to be a member of the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which have forged peace agreements with the government.
“He (Kalaing) felt he was left behind that’s why he left these groups,” he said. Baldomar said Kalaing then joined the ranks of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and later on became a member of DI. The BIFF and the DI are classified by the military as terrorist organizations
Government forces are conducting intensified military operations against all terrorist groups in Mindanao over the past few years. Baldomoar said these operations led to the death of scores of DI members, including sub-leader Kopang Sahak, alias Tarzan who was slain in a firefight with Army soldiers in Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao last month.
