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Military air strikes in Marawi city, southern Philippines, in 2017. Photo: AP

Philippines: 7 militants killed, bombs seized in latest raid by troops

  • About 60 Muslim militants in remote camp near Maguing in Lanao del Sur province were attacked by fighter jets and army forces, military officials said
  • It was not clear whether, Abu Zacariah, suspected new leader of Islamic State group, was among those killed or managed to escape

Philippine troops killed at least seven Muslim insurgents aligned with Islamic State group in a recent offensive in the south and recovered 45 heavy firearms and several bombs and landmines that were to be used in future attacks, military officials said Thursday.

About 60 Muslim militants were in the remote camp near Maguing in Lanao del Sur province when it was attacked Tuesday by fighter jets and army forces, military officials said.

It was not immediately clear whether their leader, Abu Zacariah, was among those killed or managed to escape. One soldier was killed and five others were wounded in the fighting, the officials said.

Philippine troops kill militant wanted for beheadings, kidnappings

Zacariah has been implicated in past attacks and bombings and is suspected of being the newly designated leader of Islamic State group in Southeast Asia, said army infantry brigade Commander Brigadier General Jose Maria Cuerpo II, who oversaw Tuesday’s offensive.

Two Factions of the militant group Daulah Islamiyah, linked to Islamic State group, appear to have merged and camped near Maguing in January.

At the time, some power transmission towers in the region were bombed in attacks claimed by Islamic State group, prompting the military to intensify its surveillance and prepare for an offensive, Cuerpo said.

“The troops were ready to attack but they assessed it would be difficult to storm the encampment, which was protected by heavy weapons,” Cuerpo told reporters. He said that prompted him to first launch air strikes against the insurgents.

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Marawi rebuilds four years after Isis militants laid siege to southern Philippine city

Marawi rebuilds four years after Isis militants laid siege to southern Philippine city

Air force fighter jets dropped a dozen bombs, then army troops launched a ground attack and overran the camp. The insurgents fled in different directions and were pursued by troops, military officials said.

The military denied reports that the troops encountered guerillas belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group which signed a peace pact with the government in 2014 and is now helping govern a Muslim autonomous region in the south.

“We’d like to assure our partners in the MILF that we respect the peace accord,” military spokesman Colonel Ramon Zagala said. “We are on track and we’re only targeting the peace spoilers.”

Troops patrolling decimated streets in the Philippines in 2017. Photo: AP

The military denied reports that the troops encountered guerillas belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group which signed a peace pact with the government in 2014 and is now helping govern a Muslim autonomous region in the south.

Daulah Islamiyah members were involved in the 2017 siege of Marawi, a southern Islamic city where hundreds of militants waving Islamic State group-style black flags occupied commercial buildings and villages and took hostages.

Filipino troops, backed by US and Australian surveillance aircraft, quelled the five-month siege, which left about 1,200 people dead – mostly militants – and destroyed the mosque-studded city’s commercial centre and outlying residential communities.

The military has been launching offensives against small armed groups allied with the militants who laid siege on Marawi, including the Abu Sayyaf, which has been blacklisted by the US and the Philippines for past bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings in the south of the largely Roman Catholic country.

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