Islamic State terrorists kill four Philippine govt militiamen
Slain Moro Islamic Liberation Front members had been instrumental in counterterrorism efforts.
MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR: Suspected pro-Islamic State terrorists killed four government militiamen in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao del Sur on Sunday (Apr. 14), it has been reported.
The four members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), who actively supported the police and military counterterror campaign in the province, were killed in an ambush in Shariff Aguak district, PhilStar reported.
“Local leaders, members of different municipal peace and order councils in Maguindanao del Sur and officials of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) told reporters on Monday (Apr. 15) that Mhoni Kamid, Khar and Tapurih, both surnamed Anding Ahmed Mansur, died on the spot from gunshot wounds on their bodies,” the news outlet reported.
The victims, all residents of Dapiawan village in Datu Saudi Ampatuan district, Maguindanao del Sur, were riding motorcycles maneuvering through a stretch of a highway in Shariff Aguak town, when gunmen positioned along the route shot them with assault rifles, killing them instantly.
“Maguindanao del Sur’s police director, Col. Roel Sermese, and the chief of the Shariff Aguak Municipal Police Station, Lt. Col. Regie Albellera, stated in separate reports on Monday to the headquarters of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region that the slain MILF members were on their way to Barangay Limpongo in Datu Hoffer town when they were attacked,” PhilStar reported further.
“Local executives and traditional Moro community elders told reporters the group of Kagui Katatang, who is identified with both the outlawed Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF, was behind the atrocity.”
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Dawlah Islamiya, which is Arabic for Islamic State, is the umbrella term given to local terror outfits aligned with the Middle Eastern terrorist group.
BIFF stands for the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters group, some of whose factions support the ideology of the Islamic State.
Senior 6ID officials told reporters the four slain men had guided the army to secluded hideouts of wanted Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF members in recent months in operations that resulted in clashes that killed 19 terrorists.
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SEA MILITANCY cannot immediately establish whether the fatal ambush was revenge for the killing of three members of another pro-Islamic State terror outfit, the Maute Group, in neighbouring Lanao del Norte province, on Saturday (Apr. 13).
Different pro-Islamic State terror groups and different BIFF factions were recently reported to be working together in their attacks against government troops.
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