Another soldier, 2 more Dawlah members killed in Maguindanao hostilities
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 22:45 PM Wed Mar 4, 2020
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By:
John M. Unson
COTABATO CITY ---- Another soldier perished Tuesday in internecine clashes with Dawlah Islamiya gunmen in the upland border of Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak towns in Maguindanao.
The slain Cpl. Albert Serquina, who was killed in a gunfight with Dawlah Islamiya members Tuesday afternoon, belonged to the 40th Infantry Battalion.
Sgt. Irvin Alberastine of the 57th Infantry Battalion died from gunshot wounds sustained in an encounter with Dawlah Islamiya gunmen also in Tuayan the day before.
Municipal officials and traditional Moro datus have confirmed to reporters that four members of the Dawlah Islamiya, one of them a cleric, were killed in the hostilities that started early Monday.
Members of the municipal peace and order councils in Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak said Wednesday nine members of the Dawlah Islamiya, also known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, were wounded in clashes with pursuing soldiers.
The group operates in the fashion of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and is not covered by the current peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The cadavers of the slain Dawlah Islamiya gunmen were immediately turned over to local leaders for proper burial, according to the police.
Armored Simba combat vehicles of mechanized Army units have been deployed in the surroundings of Tuayan to beef up efforts of clearing the area from occupation by Dawlah Islamiya forces.