The death toll in the military campaign against a terrorist
group in Lanao del Sur rose to 37 as the Army pressed its offensive against the
group which pledged allegiance to an international terrorist group.
Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry
Brigade, told DXMS-AM Radyo Bida the number of fatalities could even go higher
as the military intensified its offensive in the mountains of Butig, Lanao del
Sur.
Murillo said the same group was also blamed for destroying
vital transmission lines of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
He said the Maute brothers, which has about 300 armed
followers, first harassed government forces securing a village captured by
soldiers following skirmishes last February.
Fighting is still raging in Barangay Ragayan in Butig, with
the military using its air assets to flush out the armed men deep into the
forest.
Murillo said the group was behind the beheading of two
innocent civilians before the fighting erupted last week.
He said the group was engaged in extortion and kidnapping of
six persons working in a sawmill in Iligan
City
Involved in the operation were elements of 5th Mechanized
Infantry Battalion and 51st Infantry Battalion backed by two helicopter
gunships and OV-10 bomber planes.
"We cannot say when this operation will end but as long
as there are terrorists in the villages of Butig, our operation will
continue," he said.
Murillo said two soldiers were killed while nine others were
injured in the ongoing firefight. Killed were Private First Class Danilo Allaga
at Mark Ferdinand Ortaliza.
The skirmishes forced about 2,000 individuals to flee from
Barangay Ragayan and nearby villages.
Maharlanny Alonto, Lanao del Sur provincial social welfare
officer said the displaced families were from the villages of Coloyan, Samer,
Bayabao, Poctan, Raya Timbab and Sandab.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) emergency
unit had already sent relief aid to affected families.
ARMM Vice Gov. Al-Rashid Alonto Lucman said the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is also coming to provide assistance to the
evacuees.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=890278
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