Even with the neutralization of a group professing ties with
terror organization ISIS in Sultan Kudarat,
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) units are still conducting law
enforcement operations in the above-mentioned province to contain lawless
elements in the province.
"The military, through the JTFC (Joint Task Force
Central of Western Mindanao Command) continues to assist the conduct of law
enforcement operations to contain lawless elements operating in Sultan
Kudarat," AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla said in a statement
Friday.
The clash which took place 5:40 a.m. at Sitio Sinapingan,
Barangay Butril, Palimbang town, Sultan Kudarat resulted in the killing of
eight members of the so-called Ansar Khalifah Philippine (AKP), he said.
The AKP claims affiliation with the ISIS and other extremist
groups, but have no known verified and confirmed links to the latter.
The clash stemmed from operations conducted by the 6th
Marine Battalion and 1st Marine Brigade, operating units of the JTFC, against
AKP leader Muhammad Jaafar Maguid, alias “Tokboy,” a known criminal and
terrorist bomber.
The law enforcement operation was jointly conducted with
Philippine National Police counterparts to serve existing warrants of arrest
issued by pertinent courts for these criminals at large who have been linked to
cattle-rustling and extortion activities employing bombing and scare tactics.
Following the 30-minute encounter, eight cadavers were
recovered as well as assorted high-powered firearms, various materials for
making improvised explosive devices (IEDs), assorted radios, documents of high
intelligence values, and several pieces of ISIS flags.
"The identities of those killed in the encounter are
still being verified. No casualty was reported on the side of the government
troops," Padilla added.
He stated AKP recently posted videos of themselves on the
internet expressing their support to extremist groups which was seen as their
attempt to gain attention.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=832081
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