16 more Dawlah bandits surrender to 6th ID
Mindanao Armed Conflict • 22:00 PM Wed Aug 19, 2020
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By:
John M. Unson
Mayor Pax Ali Mangudadatu (3rd from left) of Datu Abdullah Sangki town in Maguindanao receives a rifle from a BIFF member during surrender rites in Maguindanao. (6th ID photo)
MAGUINDANAO --- Sixteen more members of the outlawed Dawlah Islamiya yielded to the Army’s 6th Infantry Division Tuesday.
The 16 bandits, who belonged to a group led by the wanted bomber Imam Karialan, also turned in assault rifles, a 60 millimeter mortar, B-40 anti-tank rockets and improvised explosives during a symbolic rite in Datu Abdullah Sangki town in Maguindanao.
The Dawlah Islamiya, also known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, operates in the fashion of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The group is tagged in all deadly bombings in central Mindanao since 2015, attacks meant to sabotage the peace process between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The 16 BIFF members surrendered through the intercession of officials of the 33rd Infantry Battalion, the 1st Mechanized Brigade and the 601st Brigade.
Major Gen. Carreon, commander of the Army’s 6th ID, said Wednesday he is grateful to local officials who helped them convince the 16 Dawlah Islamiya members to return to the fold of law.
No fewer than 200 Dawlah Islamiya bandits have yielded to the 6th ID in batches since 2017, now being reintroduced into mainstream society with the help of the regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.