Army overruns Maute camp in Lanao del Sur

MANILA, Philippines — Government security forces yesterday overran a training camp of the Maute terrorists following an overnight assault in Sultan Dumalondong, Lanao del Sur.

Although heavily fortified, troopers from the Army’s 55th Infantry Battalion (IB) breached the Maute defenses and took control of the camp at around 5:30 a.m.

The camp was equipped with training facilities and surrounded by  trenches and foxholes, according to  Col. Romeo Brawner, commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade based in Marawi.

“It is located  on a high elevation with sniper nests. The road toward the camp was covered by a thick forest. Black IS flags and personal belongings were recovered at the place,” Brawner said, referring to the Islamic State.

On Thursday morning, Army troopers who were tracking down the location of new Maute leader Owaida Marohombsar, alias Abu Dar, clashed with a group of militants in Barangay Sumalindao.

The firefight, which left three terrorists dead and three soldiers wounded, continued overnight and until yesterday morning.

Abu Dar and his men, who were earlier spotted in the village, escaped toward the jungles.

“The terrorists split into small groups to cover their tracks. Our combat operation is ongoing. They’re just a few kilometers away from the captured camp,” Brawner said.

He said the  plan to launch an air strike was aborted due to thick clouds over the area.

2 Mautes surrender 

Meanwhile, two suspected Maute terrorists including a child-warrior surrendered to the military in Butig town on Thursday.

The suspects, identified in their aliases as Ashlani, 34, and Hussein, 17, decided to surrender amid a military operation in the nearby town of Sultan Dumalondong.

The suspects were worried that they would be the target of the next military operation, according to Capt. Clint Antipala, acting public information office chief of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division.

Lt. Col. Edgar Allan Villanueva, chief of the Army’s 49th IB, said that local officials and the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Post facilitated the surrender.

Villanueva said the suspects were recruited and trained by the Mautes in 2013. – With Roel Pareño, Michael Punongbayan