Eleven Isis terrorists surrender to Philippine army
They were members of the Dawlyah Islamiya - Maguid Group.
SULTAN KUDARAT: Eleven members of a pro-Islamic State local terror group have surrendered to the Philippine army in the southern province of Sultan Kudarat.
The Dawlyah Islamiya (DI) - Maguid Group personalities surrendered to the 5th Special Forces Battalion of the Special Forces Regiment and were formally presented to Brig. Gen. Andre B Santos, the commander of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade on Oct. 6.
The surrender ceremony was held at the brigade’s headquarters at Camp Leono, Tacurong City, said the unit in a statement on Sunday (Oct. 8).
The surrendered terrorists came from the province of South Cotabato and turned over high-powered firearms consisting of two 7.62mm M14 rifles, one cal. 50 sniper rifle, two improvised explosive devices and a hand grenade.
The South Cotabato government extended an immediate assistance to the personalities as they awaited the processing of their cash and livelihood assistance as well as firearms remunerations under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).
The men, according to the unit, chose to return to society as a result of the collaborative efforts of the brigade and South Cotabato government.
“The DI - Maguid Group is on the verge of disintegration due to the loss of leadership, exhaustion, fear and starvation,” said the brigade.
“The family members of said personalities became a powerful motivation for them to leave a life of violence behind.
“The return to the fold of the law of these individuals will greatly help Soccsksargen achieve its goal to be an extremist and insurgency-free region.”
Soccsksargen refers to the provinces of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani as well as General Santos City.
The DI - Maguid Group is a smaller unit of the Maute Group, which along with the Abu Sayyaf Group, laid siege over Sultan Kudarat’s capital city Marawi in 2017 to establish a wilayat or branch of the Islamic State terror group in the Southeast Asia region.
A fierce five-month urban battle ensued before government troops retook the city in October of that year.