Gunmen raid army post in Basilan province

 From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 17, 2023): Gunmen raid army post in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Suspected Islamists attacked an army ranger post in the town of Ungkaya Pukan in the Muslim province of Basilan in southern Philippines sparking a gun battle that forced at least 300 people fleeing their homes to safety, police said.

Police said the fighting in Materling village began 1 p.m. on Friday, June 16, and lasted over an hour and wounded a civilian, Aragon Sajid Abon, 38. Civilians from Materling as well as those from the villages of Lower Ulitan and Bohe Suyak escaped the clashes. It said the civilians from the villages Materling, Boheh Suyak and Lower Ulitan were temporarily housed in Ma’ahad Darul Ulum.

Another report from the provincial government quoted Major Alphad Osalli, the town’s police chief, saying the gun battle lasted until 2 p.m. when the enemies withdrew towards the unknown direction, paving the way for the immediate evacuation of the displaced villagers in coordination with social workers and municipal administrator Madznur Maturan.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the town is a known stronghold of the former rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf group.

The Western Mindanao Command said there was no fighting, but confirmed members of the Scout Ranger were fired upon by gunmen. “Pinaputukan lang ang post ng Ranger ng unidentified perpetrators, but there was no firefight happened,” Army spokesman Maj. Andrew Linaw told The Mindanao Examiner Regional Newspaper.

Last June 6, army soldiers killed two pro-ISIS fighters in a clash in Basilan’s Sumisip town and recovered Ahmad Ibrahim Rullie, the 15-year old son of an Indonesian suicide bombers Rullie Rian Zeke and Ulfah Handayani Saleh who were tagged in the January 2019 bombings of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel in downtown Jolo in Sulu province.

The slain terrorists were followers of Dawlah Islamiya (Islamic State) sub-leader Mudzrimar Sawadjaan and Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Pasil Bayali. There were no reports on both Sawadjaan and Bayali.

Leaders of both the Dawlah Islamiya, Arabic words for Islamic State; and the Abu Sayyaf group have pledged allegiance to ISIS. Basilan, one of six provinces under the Bangsamoro autonomous region in a stronghold of several Muslim extremist groups, blamed for the violence and attacks on civilians over the past decades.

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