MANILA: The Philippine army is investigating claims that foreign militants were among 20 extremists killed in air and ground assaults against Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Central Mindanao.
On Tuesday, the army said that a two-day operation against the BIFF had left 22 people dead, including one civilian and one soldier.
A senior military official, who declined to be named, told Arab News that before the airstrikes at the BIFF enclave in Liguasan marsh at the boundary of Pagalungan and General Salipada K Pendatun, Maguindanao province, at least 10 foreigners were seen in the area.
“They are foreigners believed to be from Indonesia. The locals in the area call them Indong. There are more or less 10 of them,” the official said.
Singaporean terrorists known as “Mauwiyah” were also believed to be hiding in the area.
The official said that Sunday’s dawn operations had been planned for some time.
All information received by the military was confirmed before the assault was carried out against a BIFF group lead by Esmael Abdulmalik alias Abu Toraife.
Toraife, a radical cleric and skilled bombmaker, is said to be a student of Malaysian terrorist and bomb expert Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan, who was killed in the 2015 Mamasapano raid.
Philippine army units stormed the militants’ hideout with support from the air force.
Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, 6ID commander, said rockets launched by the military hit the militants’ bomb factory. “The destruction of the factory was manifested by sympathetic detonations of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) when the rockets were fired,” he said.
Unconfirmed reports said at least three foreign militants were among those killed.
A member of the group, Ustadz Anwar Ali, 22, a BIFF bombmaker, and his wife, Asnaya Ali, 20, were arrested. A sniper rifle and M4 carbine were seized.
“The suspects threw their weapons and improvised bombs in the water when we blocked all their escape routes. Ustadz Anwar is known as Abu Omar, a bomb expert in the group,” said Cabunoc.
Several boats and concealed huts destroyed by aerial and artillery attacks.
Government forces hoisted the national flag at the site following the attack. Cabunoc said it was the first time that soldiers had entered the remote marshy hideout.
“Just in time for Independence Day (June 12), we hoisted the Philippine flag in that part of the Liguasan marsh. It was the first time that soldiers were able to enter the area. No government forces have ever been there until today,” said Cabunoc, noting that the remoteness of the area which makes it a favorite hiding place even notorious bandits and criminals.
Cabunoc added the operations, which continued until Monday, showed the military “can each the enemy anywhere they are.”
“We have won the support of the people. Even among the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the general populace we have informants because they don’t want to be associated with these extremist groups,” he said.
Five more BIFF gunmen were killed in separate encounters with soldiers on Monday night.
Capt. Arvin Encinas, 6ID public affairs officer, said the militants staged retaliatory attacks by harassing army detachments and firing at a village in a different area of Maguindanao. One civilian died in the BIFF attacks.
