COTABATO CITY – The Philippine military has claimed killing on Saturday an alleged bomber of a pro-ISIS group tagged as behind two deadly attacks recently in the southern town of Isulan.
The 6th Infantry Division said troops raided a hideout of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter before dawn in the restive Maguindanao province and fatally shot Norodin Taib during a firefight. It said five other militants managed to escape the raid in Kuloy village in Shariff Aguak town.
“The suspects are involved in the bombings in Isulan in Sultan Kudarat province on August 28 and September 2, 2018,” an army statement said, adding, soldiers also recovered improvised grenades and an explosive device and mobile phones in the hideout.
The army also claimed that civilians provided intelligence that led troops to the hideout of the militants as in past operations. It was unclear how the military managed to identify the slain militant and his companions as behind the twin bombings.
Police have previously said that it filed criminal charges against a dozen suspects in the bombings.
Various militant groups are fighting for the establishment of caliphate in the troubled region and last year, two of the groups – the Maute and Abu Sayyaf – captured Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province and tried but failed to put up a caliphate. The siege led to house-to-house fighting and close quarter-battle between soldiers and militants that left hundreds of casualties and city in ruins.
Authorities had blamed residents for the siege because of their failure to report the presence of militants who managed to sneak a huge cache of weapons before taking over Marawi. (Mindanao Examiner)
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