22 members of Daesh-linked group dead in series of clashes with troops in Philippines south, says military
The
Military spokesman Maj Filemon Tan Jr. said in a statement
Saturday that the deaths occurred after the "beheading of two civilians in
the area" of Lanao del Sur.
"Since May 26, 2016, intense military operations are
being conducted against the local terrorist group," he added.
Tan said the operations had resulted in a series of clashes
which left 22 members of the largely unknown "Maute group" dead,
along with two soldiers
Nine government troops were also wounded.
The Maute group -- along with fellow militant group the Abu
Sayyaf -- has pledged allegiance to Daesh.
Tan said government forces remained in pursuit of the group.
The military has blamed the group for a series of
kidnappings in Lanao province in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and
holds it responsible for the beheading of the two civilians -- sawmill workers
-- in Butig town in Lanao del Sur last month.
The deaths of the Daesh-linked group members follow a
conflict that broke out in in Lanao del Surn on Feb. 20 this year between
government troops and a group of Moro insurgents with reported Daesh sympathies.
Three army soldiers were killed in the disturbances, 11 were
wounded, and 20 members of the group died.
The fighting forced about 335 families to flee their homes.
The clashes began when a supposed "foreign and local
terrorist organization" led by the "Maute brothers", harassed
the 51st Infantry Battalion, which had been manning a patrol base in Barangay
Bayabao.
Armored personnel carriers and troops were sent to the area,
and the military used two helicopters to track down the armed men and conducted
air strikes against them.
The military has said the skirmishes turned into a full
blown military offensive with troops using artillery, gunships, and armored
personnel carriers against the suspected terrorists.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf group -- armed with mostly
improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out
bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortions in a self-determined fight
for an independent province in the Philippines
It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have
failed to be paid for their release.
http://aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/philippines-22-dead-in-3-days-of-clashes-with-military/580282
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