Philippines: 3 ‘Daesh sympathizers’ dead in encounter

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines (AA) – Three suspected members of a local Daesh-inspired group in the southern Philippines have been killed in an encounter with security forces.

A police information officer based in General Santos City told The Philippine Star on Sunday that Special Action Force personnel had only been seeking to verify reports of the presence of the Ansar al-Khalifa Philippines group’s leader when the encounter occurred in Sarangani province.

Superintendent Romeo Galgo Jr. expressed gratitude toward vigilant Muslim villagers who informed them of the group’s emergence in the seaside town of Maasim.

The group was established by Mohammad Jaafar Maguid more than a year ago in Palimbang town in Sultan Kudarat province, only to be driven out of the area earlier this year when security forces overran their lair.

After the fatal encounter Saturday, police raided the house of a suspected member where they recovered black Daesh flags, assorted bomb-making materials and diagrams detailing electrical devices that could be used to detonate improvised explosive devices.

According to news broadcaster ABS-CBN, the three men killed in the incident are believed to have been among the perpetrators of a grenade explosion that injured eight people during a town festival in June.

Meanwhile, 1002nd Deputy Brigade Commander Col. Tyne Banas insisted that while the group consists of Daesh “sympathizers”, there are no members of the Middle East-based extremist groups in the region.