4 militiamen hurt in attack by Dawlah Islamiya remnants

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Four members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit were wounded when remnants of the now-defunct Dawlah Islamiya terror group fired assault rifles at their roadside detachments in separate attacks in Datu Hoffer town in Maguindanao del Sur before dawn Monday.

Local executives and officials of Army units in Maguindanao del Sur and the provincial police office confirmed to reporters on Tuesday the two atrocities perpetrated by Dawlah Islamiya terrorists, which left four CAFGU members wounded.

Army and police officials in Maguindanao del Sur had told reporters that the two separate attacks by local terrorists were apparent retaliation for the death of three Dawlah Islamiya members in an encounter with patrolling soldiers on Sunday morning in a secluded area in Barangay Tuayan Mother in Datu Hoffer.

Officials of different Army units in Maguindanao del Sur and Lt. Col. Ronald Suscano, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division, separately said on Tuesday that three militiamen in the Gogo Army-CAFGU outpost in Datu Hoffer were wounded when Dawlah Islamiya terrorists shot their makeshift shelters with combat rifles and immediately scampered away.

Another CAFGU member also sustained bullet wounds when Dawlah Islamiya members opened fire at their detachment in Labo-Labo area in the same town.

“We received reports from residents of Datu Hoffer that the two attacks on our community service outposts were apparent retaliations for the demise of three terrorists in an encounter with our troops earlier that day,” Suscano said.

The four wounded CAFGU members were immediately transported by emergency responders to a hospital for treatment.

Local executives and traditional Moro community leaders actively supporting the police and military’s joint anti-terror operations in Maguindanao del Sur told reporters on Monday that the Dawlah Islamiya members killed in a clash with soldiers in Barangay Tuayan Mother on Sunday morning, Rasul Beduh Moksim, Salik Anding Bona and Mohammad Alikhan Sendig, are experts in fabrication of improvised explosive devices that can be detonated from a distance using mobile phones.

Villagers had reported to the 6th ID that the three of them were among the gunmen who killed five policemen and wounded three others in an ambush last March 28 in Shariff Aguak , Maguindanao del Sur.

Local executives and traditional Moro community leaders said the encounter on Sunday in Barangay Tuayan Mother erupted when terrorists opened fire at soldiers dispatched to check on complaints by villagers about their presence in the area, asking for money and rice at gunpoint.