Four Isis-linked Filipinos surrender to army
They are linked to Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group.
LANAO DEL SUR: A follower and three supporters of a pro-Daesh local terror group surrendered to the Philippine Army in the southern province of Lanao del Sur on Monday (Oct. 23), a military command said.
The four men linked to the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group (DI-MG) surrendered to the army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion (32IB) headed by Lt. Col. Edmond Lanzar in Matalin village, Malabang municipality, the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) said in a statement.
Westmincom identified them only through their aliases as Mickey, the DI-MG follower, and the three supporters as Butongo, Salim and Amano.
The four men handed over one M1 Garand rifle and are currently undergoing custodial debriefing at the 32IB headquarters.
Westmincom commander Maj. Gen. Steve Crespillo said in the statement: “The turning of events that the people of Mindanao are witnessing from the snowball of surrenders brings gratification to the officers, men, and women on the ground.”
DI-MG along with the Abu Sayyaf terror group laid siege to the southern city of Marawi in 2017, resulting in the nation’s longest urban battle that took more than 1,200 lives, mostly militants’.
Government troops liberated the city after a five-month battle that saw the killing of two siege leaders including the DI-MG’s co-founder, Omar Maute, towards the end of October of that year.