Fifteen IS terrorists charged with ambushing police in Philippines
Two cops were killed and four others injured in the ambush.
MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR: Police have filed murder and multiple frustrated charges against 15 allegedly IS-linked individuals believed to be behind the ambush of a police patrol vehicle on June 14 that killed two policemen and injured four others in Maguindanao del Sur province, it has been reported.Â
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police chief, Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, reportedly said the complaints were filed before the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday (June 29).
Only five of the 15 suspects were identified, said Nobleza, who did not name them or reveal their group’s affiliation, but who said all suspects remained at large while case buildup was still ongoing.
Six police officers of the province’s Police Mobile Group Company were heading for the provincial police office in nearby Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town when ambushed at about 8pm.
Responding police and soldiers rushed the victims to the Maguindanao del Sur provincial hospital but Patrolmen Saipoden Shiek Macacuna and Bryan Polayagan died on the way.
Police Chief Master Sgt. Rey Vincent Gertos, Staff Sgt. Benjie delos Reyes, Patrolman Alib Abdulgafor and Patrolman RJ Bal were wounded in the ambush.Â
No one has claimed the attack but the police suspected the gunmen were members of the IS-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters terror group, which maintained holdouts in Shariff Aguak and nearby municipalities.
The attack came hours after the killing of Faharuddin Hadji Sattar, also known as Abu Zacharia, the leader of IS in Southeast Asia and a local terror group known as the Dawlah Islamiyah-Lanao or Maute Group, and his aide in separate raids in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur province.
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. and Maguindanao del Sur governor Bai Mariam Mangudadatu on June 19 visited the policemen who survived the ambush and conferred posthumous awards to the relatives of the fallen policemen.