Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. has cited the “successful neutralization” of nine members of a Muslim terrorist group.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines commends the exceptional dedication of the 103rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Philippine Army, for their successful counter-terrorism operation in Barangay Tapurog, Piagapo, Lanao del Sur, on January 25 and 26, 2024,” Brawner said in a statement.
“This operation resulted in the neutralization of 9 members of the Daulah Islamiyah-Lanao and the capture of 9 high-powered firearms and two (2) Improvised Explosive Device (IED).” he added.
“The precision and unwavering dedication exhibited in this operation, particularly in targeting the perpetrators of the Mindanao State University bombing on December 3, 2023, deliver swift and decisive justice for the victims of the despicable attack,” Brawner said.
He also said the military operation was a “clear precedent of the AFP’s mandate of serving the people and securing the state from all forms of terrorist and unlawful acts of the people wishing to do harm to the Filipinos.”
“This operation sets a clear precedent: the AFP will not tolerate those who endanger the lives and well-being of our people,” he stressed.
“The remaining few will face our full force and unshakeable resolve in bringing every single responsible individual to account,” the AFP chief said.
Brawner also called on those who want to challenge the military to “rethink their choices”.
“We call upon those considering violence to rethink their choices for the AFP remains an indomitable force ensuring the safety and confidence of our citizens,” Brawner said.
The government signed a peace pact with the nation’s largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in 2014, ending their deadly armed rebellion.
But smaller bands of Muslim fighters opposed to the peace deal remained, including militants professing allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The Philippine Army on Saturday said nine Islamist militants including three suspects in a Catholic mass bombing in Marawi have been killed in a gunfight with government troops.
The Army said about 15 Daulah Islamiyah suspects were holding out at a mountain farm close to the remote southern municipality of Piagapo.
The fierce encounter left nine terrorists dead and four soldiers wounded, Brig. Gen. Yegor Rey Barroquillo said.
He said three of the six suspects in the bombing in Mindanao State University during a Catholic Mass in Marawi City last month were among those who were slain in Thursday’s fighting.
“Of the nine, three had direct participation in the MSU bombing,” Barroquillo said.
He also said three other bombing suspects were still on the run, including the alleged mastermind, a former student of the university who went by the alias of “Engineer”.
Troopers of the Army’s First Scout Rangers Regiment swooped down on the mountain farmhouses where the suspects retreated to evade the post-bombing manhunt.
“Six (gunmen) were able to escape and in our assessment the Engineer was among them,” Barroquillo said, adding the farmers had left the area earlier this month after the gunmen arrived.
Militant attacks on buses, Catholic churches and public markets marked decades-long unrest in the Mindanao.