3 Dawlah terrorists killed in Lanao del Sur clash

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Soldiers and policemen shot dead three members of the Dawlah Islamiya, one of them a woman, they were supposed to arrest on Saturday, August 9, in Lumbayanague town in Lanao del Sur in an operation that turned haywire.

Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, commander of the Philippine Army, and Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), said Sunday, August 10, that the clash erupted in Barangay Lamin when the suspects opened fire at the law enforcement team serving them multiple arrest warrants. The suspects were wanted for high-profile criminal cases.

Local officials, including traditional Maranao elders, identified the slain suspects as Mohammad Nasif Pangandama, Abdullah Kadil Mituon, and a woman, Rahma Mindo Salik, also known as Nahara. The firefight ended only when the suspects’ companions ran out of ammunition and fled.

Three other Dawlah Islamiya members — Fahad Sarip Maruhom, Norhan Otik Kamid, and Asnawi Kadir Abdullah — were captured by pursuing policemen. Local officials said the detainees appeared emaciated, possibly due to food scarcity as intensified joint anti-terror operations have limited their ability to extort from villagers.

Reports reaching PRO-BAR indicated that the three slain suspects were facing charges of multiple murder, armed robbery, large-scale drug trafficking, and extortion.

According to the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, soldiers and policemen recovered assault rifles, improvised explosive devices, an M79 grenade launcher, and fragmentation grenades from the scene.