GOVERNMENT troops have killed 56 Islamic militants including a “foreign-looking” one who may be among the terrorists wanted by the United States, the military said Monday.
“One of the cadavers is a foreign-looking guy,” said military spokesman Brigadier-General Joselito Kakilala, outlining the operation in a television interview on ABS-CBN.
ammunition intended for the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
from an Air Force plane in Maguindanao in a continuation of
operations against the terrorists. OMar Mangorsi
The corpse’s features bear “similarities” to one of the United States’ “most wanted” Islamic militants, he said, refusing to identify the suspect.
Four soldiers were killed and 21 were wounded in the raid, Kakilala said.
The raid followed a bloody anti-terror operation in January that killed Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir, one of Asia’s most wanted men, but also claimed the lives of 44 police commandos.
The BIFF and other rebels killed the commandos as the operation backfired, triggering a wave of outrage that has shaken the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
The fighting centers on the Liguasan marshlands, where Abdel Basit Usman, one of the terrorists sought by the US, survived the Jan. 25 police raid.
The military said last week that aside from Usman, it was hunting four Indonesians and one Arab who had bomb-making expertise.
In addition to the suspected militants killed in the operation, which is expected to end this week, four were arrested and some 33 wounded, Kakilala said.
“We also got their bomb factories,” he added.
The fighting has forced about 45,000 civilians to flee their homes, local officials said.
The BIFF is now believed to number fewer than 300, but their leader, Ameril Umrakato, “remains very influential” in the area, he added.
Kakilala said the hunt for Usman and the five other suspected terrorists would not even after the end of the all-out offensive.
“Our units on the ground will not give them time to rest. There is no timeline but we will make sure they will be on the run every day until such time they will be finally cornered and captured,” Kakilala said.
Kakilala said Usman and the other terrorists were being protected by the group of Mohammad Ali Tambako, nephew of BIFF founder Ameril Umbra Kato, who recently formed his Justice for Islamic Movement (JIM) with only a handful of followers.
The military has no information on Kato’s whereabouts after he suffered a stroke that left him bedridden years ago. His exit has left a power vacuum, with Tambako and Kagi Karialan, Kato’s chief of staff, battling for control. In the end, Tambako formed his own group after he failed to kill Karialan in a bomb explosion.
“Let’s be clear... the BIFF and JIM is one and the same, the same dogs with different collars,” Kakilala said.
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, AFP Public Affairs Office chief, identified one of the soldier-fatalities as 1st Lt. Grommel Auman, executive officer 6th Scout Ranger Company.
“We engaged the enemy in an intense firefight for about five hours. We were able to seize two of their defensive positions after grabbing one of the M60 machine guns that they used to against us,” 1st Lt. Blas Alsiao, commanding officer of the unit, said.
He said Auman was hit in the neck while leading his men during the assault on the machine gun nest.
“We were all inspired by his bravery... Seeing him bloodied and in pain, I decided to evacuate him to a safer ground so that he could be brought to a hospital,” he said.
An hour later, Auman died.
Three more soldiers from the Alpha Company of the 33rd Infantry Battalion were also killed.
Six more soldiers in Alsiao’s team were wounded.
Marines on Friday captured four BIFF rebels inside their temporary camp in the outskirts of Datu Piang, Maguindanao without firing a single shot.
A military report said the capture of the four rebels occurred after troopers of the Marine Force Recon separately assaulted two BIFF camps in barangays Dabunayan and Liab in Datu Piang at about 2:30 a.m. Friday.
Kakilala said the four BIFF rebels were manning the camp when the Marines emerged unnoticed and fought them in hand-to-hand combat.
Seized from the rebels were a cal.45 pistol and a Thompson sub-machine gun, bomb-making gadgets and four mobile phones.
Heavy fighting between the military and the BIFF resumed Friday after a brief lull.
In the intense exchange of firing, a combat helicopter pilot and 12 ground troopers were wounded.
The attack chopper was hit by enemy fire while providing close air support to ground forces during an assault on a BIFF lair.
The identities of the wounded combat pilot and the wounded troops were not immediately available.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/03/10/56-islamic-militants-slain-so-far/
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