Philippine security forces have killed 10 suspected Muslim militants in the deadliest clash so far this year in the southern part of the country, officials said on Friday. The operation targeted members of the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute group, a separatist faction aligned with the Islamic State group.
The confrontation began when police and army troops attempted to serve arrest warrants for the group's commander, Amerol Mangoranca, in a village in Lanao del Sur province. Mangoranca and his fighters opened fire on the government forces, sparking an hour-long gunbattle that left the commander and nine other suspected militants dead, including four women.
No government casualties were reported. The military and police recovered four rifles, a pistol, a grenade and bomb parts from the scene. An infant found at the battle site was given unspecified medical treatment, according to a military statement.
Major General Yegor Rey Barroquillo Jr., commander of the army's 1st Infantry Division, described the operation as a decisive blow. “Our forces have struck a decisive blow and we will continue forward until enduring peace is fully secured,” he said. “It is justice served for every fallen soldier, every grieving family and every community that suffered under terror.”
Decades of separatist violence in the southern Philippines, home to a Muslim minority in the predominantly Catholic nation, have eased significantly since a 2014 peace deal with the largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. However, smaller factions like Dawlah Islamiya-Maute continue to stage sporadic attacks.
