10 Dawlah Islamiya members slain in AFP offensive

COTABATO CITY, Philippines —Ten members of the Dawlah Islamiya were killed as the military launched air strikes and ground offensives on the suspected lairs of the terrorist group near the Liguasan Delta on Thursday.

Six of the fatalities were identified only as Omar, Mindo and Akmad Samsudin, Sukarno Bantas, Amier, Bader and Bedu.

Members of municipal peace and order councils in the areas where the military offensive was conducted said five other Dawlah Islamiya members were wounded.

The 602nd Infantry Brigade of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) launched the offensive after local executives reported the presence of terrorists, who according to villagers were making improvised explosive devices.

The Army attack targeted a part of the Liguasan Delta near Barangay Dalgan in Pagalungan as well as a marshland near Kabacan and M’lang towns in Cotabato.

Villagers and barangay officials confirmed that the fatalities were members of the Dawlah Islamiya.

“We have received reports from people in the municipalities about that. We are initiating means of securing more details from them. From our end, we don’t have an actual count of enemy cadavers yet,” Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera, 6th ID commander, said.

Last week, 11 members of the Dawlah Islamiya were killed in a clash with soldiers in Barangay Tuayan in Datu Hofer, Maguindanao del Sur.