3 suspects linked to Maguindanao ambush slain in Army operation
COTABATO CITY—Three alleged members of the Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) group linked to the March 28 ambush of five police officers in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, were killed in a surgical military operation on Sunday in Barangay Tuayan, Datu Hoffer, the Army said.
Lt. Col. Ronald Suscano, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, said the fatalities were part of the group behind the ambush-slay of five police officers from the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company of the Maguindanao del Sur Police Provincial Office in Barangay Poblacion, Shariff Aguak town.
Soldiers also recovered high-powered firearms, including three rifles and ammunition, from the slain suspected local terrorist group members.
Pursuit operations
Suscano said the killed individuals belonged to the DI group operating in the mountains of Datu Hoffer.
“Clearing operations are still ongoing, and pursuit operations are continuing,” Suscano said in a radio interview.
Mowen Ampatuan, chair of Barangay Tuayan Mother, said residents observed fighter jets flying overhead, followed by airstrikes at noon on Sunday.
“We are used to it. There were no civilian evacuees because the encounter site is far from the communities,” Ampatuan told the Inquirer.
The Special Investigation Task Group, created to fast-track the investigation and identify the perpetrators, had already filed appropriate charges.
