30 Maute group members slain in Lanao clashes

MANILA, Philippines - At least 30 suspected members of the Maute group have been killed in military operations in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur since midnight on Saturday. Three soldiers were wounded in the encounters.

Sixteen militants were believed killed in air strikes and 14, including four foreigners, in ground assaults.

As of yesterday morning, operations continued against 152 Maute militants at the Piagapo Complex.

Soldiers belonging to the 103rd Infantry Brigade, First Infantry Division (Tabak) led by Brig. Gen. Nixon Fortes reported that they also seized a camp of the militants in Sitio Pagalungan, Barangay Gacap. The camp has 48 bunkers, running trenches and other structures

The body of at least one of the slain militants, war materials, fragmentation and rifle grenades, bomb materials, a video camera, assorted uniforms, three motorcycles, food items and an Indonesian passport were among those recovered at the camp.

”We had intensive air strikes,” said Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Western Mindanao Command chief.

  Galvez said they launched the offensives after receiving intelligence reports on the presence of armed men, including more than a dozen Malaysian and Indonesian terrorists in the area. He said they also received complaints that these armed men prevented civilians from working on their farms.

500 families displaced

Meanwhile, more than 500 families or 1,282 residents in Piagapo were forced to leave their homes to avoid being caught in the crossfire, said Salma Jayne Tamano, Lanao del Sur information officer.

“We are expecting an increase in the number of evacuees if tension will continue,” Tamano said.

Lanao del Sur Gov. Bedjoria Soraya Adiong deployed teams to provide relief and rehabilitation assistance to affected residents.

Lanao del Norte and Iligan City are on alert to prevent the entry of fleeing Maute group members and their sympathizers.

Senior Superintendent Leony Roy Ga, Iligan police chief, said checkpoints manned by soldiers and policemen were set up along the highway in Barangay Suarez.

Siblings Omar and Abdullah Maute lead the Maute group, also known as the Dawlah Islamiya. The group boasts of loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and is using the black ISIS flag as its banner. – With John Unson, Lino dela Cruz