Push Admin

Nine Islamist militants killed in Lanao del Norte clash: Army

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Military personnel stand guard at the entrance of a gymnasium while police investigators (background) look for evidence after a bomb attack at Mindanao State University in Marawi, capital of Lanao del Sur province, on December 3, 2023. AFP/Merlyn Manos" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/12/03/20231203-msu-marawi-blast-afp-s.jpg"/><figcaption>Military personnel stand guard at the entrance of a gymnasium while police investigators (background) look for evidence after a bomb attack at Mindanao State University in Marawi, capital of Lanao del Sur province, on December 3, 2023. <em>AFP/Merlyn Manos</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Nine Islamist militants including three suspects in a Catholic mass bombing in the southern Philippines have been killed in a clash with troops, the military said Saturday.</p><p>Army soldiers shot it out with about 15 Dawlah Islamiyah suspects hiding out at a mountain farm close to the remote southern municipality of Piagapo on Thursday, the commander of the military unit said.</p><p>The firefight left nine of the gunmen dead and four soldiers wounded, including two who were taken to hospital with &quot;serious&quot; wounds, Brigadier General Yegor Rey Barroquillo told AFP.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/05/23/part-of-us-died-with-them-msu-mourns-marawi-bombing-victims">&#x27;Part of us died with them&#x27;: Mindanao State University mourns Marawi bombing victims</a></li></ul><p>He said three of the six suspects in the bombing of a Catholic Mass at a school in the southern city of Marawi last month were among those killed in Thursday&#x27;s fighting.</p><p>&quot;Of the nine, three had direct participation in the MSU bombing,&quot; Barroquillo said, referring to the December 4 blast at Mindanao State University in Marawi that left four people dead and dozens wounded.</p><p>Barroquillo said three other bombing suspects were still on the run including the alleged mastermind, a former student at the university who went by the alias of &quot;Engineer&quot;.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/03/23/bangsamoro-govt-condemns-deadly-marawi-blast">Bangsamoro government, officials condemn deadly Marawi blast</a></li></ul><p>Army Scout Rangers, trained in jungle combat, crept up to a cluster of mountain farmhouses where the suspects had sought refuge to evade the post-bombing manhunt.</p><p>&quot;Six (gunmen) were able to escape and in our assessment the Engineer was among them,&quot; Barroquillo said, adding the farmers had left the area earlier this month after the gunmen arrived.</p><p>Militant attacks on buses, Catholic churches and public markets have been a feature of decades-long unrest in the south.</p><p>Manila signed a peace pact with the nation&#x27;s largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in 2014, ending their deadly armed rebellion.</p><p>But smaller bands of Muslim fighters opposed to the peace deal remain, including militants professing allegiance to the Islamic State group.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2-N40tdY1Po?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

'Of the nine, three had direct participation in the MSU bombing,' Barroquillo said, referring to the December 4 blast at Mindanao State University in Marawi.