Mindanao Armed Conflict

MAGUINDANAO --- Soldiers seized Thursday assault rifles, an anti-tank rocket and explosives scattered in an abandoned Dawlah Islamiya lair in Barangay kuloy in Shariff Aguak town.

The cache was found by servicemen of the Army’s 33^rd Infantry Battalion in makeshift shelters of terrorists in Barangay Kuloy, where they also found a live mortar round that can be converted into a powerful IED.

COTABATO CITY --- Personnel of the Army’s 5^th Special Forces Battalion seized six more improvised explosive devices found along trails crisscrossing abandoned hideouts of the Dawlah Islamiya in Shariff Saidona Mustapha town.

The IEDs were found one after another in Barangay Pamalian in Shariff Saidona Mustapha, a hostile town in the second district of Maguindanao where the Dawlah Islamiya terror group had enclaves that are now occupied by soldiers.

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Government troops nabbed two ranking communist leaders and seized several high-powered firearms of the New People's Army following a law enforcement operation in Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte at dawn of December 1, 2019.

Soldiers and policemen nabbed Christopher Cañete and Virjon Virtudazo in a combined operation in Barangay Dableston, Sultan Naga Dimaporo.

MAGUINDANAO -- Another soldier perished in an encounter Thursday with Dawlah Islamiya gunmen in the province.

Sgt. Donald Devalid of the 1^st Mechanized Infantry Battalion, a component unit of the Joint Task Force Central, or JTFC, succumbed to a bullet wound in the upper torso sustained in combat with Dawlah Islamiya terrorists who attacked them while patrolling in Barangay Kitango in Datu Saudi, Maguindanao.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- A police officer in the Misamis Oriental town of Initao was killed in a grenade explosion that also wounded 11 others, including another police officer, inside a college campus on Thursday.

Police Master Sgt. Jason Magno, 46, a member of the Initao municipal police station, died along with Ibrahim Basher, 65, the carrier of a hand grenade that exploded in the covered court of Initao College.

MAGUINDANAO ---Authorities are certain Dawlah Islamiya terror group leader Abu Toraife will avenge the death of his son and brother soldiers killed in a gunfight Tuesday.

Toraife’s son Ansari, brother Ahmad Abdulmalik, and aide, Johari Abdulatip, also known as Kedtung, were killed when an artillery round hit their makeshift shelter while exchanging shots with soldiers at noontime Tuesday in Barangay Pusaw in Shariff Saidona Mustapha, Maguindanao.

MAGUINDANAO --- Units of the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division comprising the anti-terror Joint Task Force Central found more improvised explosive devices in the surroundings of Barangay Pusaw in Shariff Saidona Mustapha, Maguindanao Wednesday.

The IEDs were left by terrorists as they abandoned their hideouts in Barangay Pusaw after a series of gunfights with soldiers from between Monday and until late Tuesday.

MAGUINDANAO --- Servicemen of the 57^th Infantry Battalion foiled a plot by the Dawlah Islamiya terror group to sabotage Sunday’s “Sinugba Festival” in Midsayap town in North Cotabato.

Soldiers belonging to the unit seized the day before materials for improvised explosive devices and two ready-to-use IEDs in a hideout of  the Dawlah Islamiya, also known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, in Barangay Inaladan in Shariff Saidona, Maguindanao.

The explosives were recovered after a brief encounter that forced the terrorists to scamper away.

A total of 44 loose firearms were turned over by the locals of Bayang, Lanao del Sur and its neighboring municipalites to the troops of the 55th Infantry Battalion at 10am today, November 18, 2019.

“The concerted effort and intensified collaboration among our troops, the communities, local chief executives, and other stakeholders resulted in this remarkable accomplishment,” said Col. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, 103rd Brigade Commander.

MAGUINDANAO --- Two soldiers sustained multiple shrapnel wounds when they stepped on booby traps while running after Islamic State inspired militants Friday in Shariff Saidona town.

The first victim was Cpl. Alexander Flauta of the Army’s 90^th Infantry Battalion.

He and companions were chasing Dawlah Islamiya terrorists fleeing from Barangay Dasawao in Shariff Saidona Mustapha, Maguindanao when he stepped on a tripwire attached to a small explosive packed with metal fragments with jagged edges.