Troops brace for terrorist retaliation after deadly clashes in BARMM

COTABATO CITY —  Police and military forces are jointly guarding against possible retaliation by remnants of two regional terror groups that lost seven members in an encounter in Barangays Manaulanan and Balong in Tugunan town, Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area, early Saturday, September 19.

Tugunan is one of eight predominantly Moro towns in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area, which is under the Bangsamoro regional government but geographically located within Cotabato province in Region 12.

The gunmen killed in clashes in Sitio Gawang in Barangay Manaulanan and nearby farming enclaves in Tugunan were among the few remaining members of the Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters who had not availed themselves of the joint reconciliation program of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for violent religious extremists.  

Barangay officials, traditional Moro community leaders in Tugunan and municipal police personnel said the gunfights in Sitio Gawang left seven gunmen dead. They were identified as Mumin Haron, Haymin Taib, Dagkungan Musa, Norodin Baskie, Abdullah Dalimbang, Abdulrahim Dalimbang and another gunman whose body was found on Sunday at one of the encounter sites. Police investigators are still working to establish his identity.

Local executives and traditional Moro leaders told reporters on Sunday that the series of deadly encounters in Tugunan on Saturday first erupted in Sitio Gawang in Barangay Manaulan, involving combined policemen and soldiers and remaining wanted members of the now-defunct Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF. The clashes subsequently spread to nearby farming enclaves in the municipality.

Tugunan Mayor Abdulbayan Abas had told reporters that outlaw groups operating in the municipality are led by three commanders: Mama Lilah Tanageb, Zoria Mulod and Theng Saddam. All three are wanted for alleged involvement in heinous crimes and are known for allegedly collecting "protection money" from villagers on a regular basis.

“The police-military law-enforcement operation against those wanted persons in our municipality was legitimate. It targeted persons wanted for criminal cases pending in courts,” Abas said.

Officials of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division separately told reporters on Saturday afternoon, after the encounter in Sitio Gawang, that the targets of the search operation opened fire first at soldiers and policemen approaching their location, triggering an intense exchange of gunfire.

Brig. Gen. Ricky Bunayog, acting commander of 6th ID, said the anti-terror operation in Tugunan involved personnel of various units, including the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office, Tugunan Municipal Police Station, the Army's 61st Reconnaissance Company, and the 40th and 7th Infantry Battalions and the 602nd Infantry Brigade, all under his command.

Attack helicopters from Tactical Operations Group 12 of the Philippine Air Force provided air support to soldiers and police officers as they exchanged gunfire with members of Dawlah Islamiya and the BIFF along the boundary of Barangays Manaulanan and Balong, forcing the militants to flee while carrying five wounded companions.

Villagers in Tugunan had asked officials of the 6th ID and the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region to protect them from possible harassment by remaining members of Dawlah Islamiya and the BIFF seeking to avenge the deaths of seven of their companions during Saturday’s clashes in Barangays Manaulanan and Balong.

Bunayog and PRO-BAR director Police Brig. Gen, Chistopher Abecia separately said that some of the units involved in Saturday’s law-enforcement operation in Tugunan would remain in the municipality to protect residents from possible retaliatory attacks by remnants of the Dawlah Islamiya and the BIFF. The groups have been accused of targeting civilians in retaliation for losses during encounters with the police military forces.