The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported that five alleged members of a lawless group were killed following a clash in Ampatuan, Maguindanao over the weekend.
In a statement, the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) said the troops recovered the bodies of the suspects, who were killed during a firefight on Saturday.
According to WestMinCom commander Lieutenant General Alfredo Rosario Jr., troops from the 40th Infantry Battalion received a report of a robbery hold-up incident in Barangay Kauran. Elements of the 40IB and Civilian Active Auxiliary (CAA),at a checkpoint at Kauran Patrol Base, then encountered armed men on board a minivan, leading to a firefight.
Recovered from the encounter were two caliber 45 pistols, two empty magazines for caliber 45, and one minivan.
United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) commander Gen. Charles Flynn meanwhile met with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Andres Centino to discuss matters of mutual concern between the two services.
The meeting took place at AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Monday.
“The two military leaders discussed cooperation on capability development, joint training, and security matters of mutual concern,” AFP public affairs office chief, Col. Jerry Baclor said in a statement.
The USARPAC is set to conduct the “Salaknib” exercises with the Philippine Army (PA) on March 5 to 24 in various areas in Central Luzon.
“Salaknib” is an annual Army-to-Army bilateral training exercise to enhance defense readiness and interoperability between PA and USARPAC.
The participants are troops from the PA’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, Training and Doctrine Command, Army Support Command, 51st Engineer Brigade, Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Army Artillery Regiment, Aviation Regiment, Armor Division, Light Reaction Regiment, Special Forces Regiment, and First Scout Ranger Regiment and their counterparts from the USARPAC.
Last January 21, the PA and USARPAC teams completed the three-day inspection of the proposed training sites in Central Luzon to ensure availability, suitability, and training-worthiness.