Soldier, pro-ISIS militant killed in clash
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Government forces clashed with pro-ISIS militants in the restive region of southern Philippines that left two persons dead, officials said Monday.
Captain Clint Antipala, a spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division, said one soldier died in the operation that targeted members of the Dawlah Islamiya in the villages of Malimbato and Upper Dimayon in Lanao del Norte’s Tagoloan town.
The weekend operation killed Rasol Mambuay and the recovery of an M16 automatic rifle, grenade, communication radios and materials in the manufacturing of improvised explosives.
Antipala said soldiers of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, municipal policemen and members of the National Bureau of Investigation were involved in the operation aimed at capturing Dianalan Dimanatang Imam and Manbuay and their followers.
He said the militants were among those who took part in the deadly siege of Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province last year.
Antipala did not say how many militants were able to escape the government operation or if they were plotting to sow terror in the region where security forces are battling various pro-ISIS groups, and communist insurgency.
The whole of southern Philippines are under an extended period of martial rule following the Marawi siege that lasted 5 months, but many militants involved in the attack managed to escape and were said to be recruiting members in the region. (Mindanao Examiner)
20
