By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (AA) - Government forces have killed dozens of Daesh-linked Maute terrorists in a series of clashes in Central Mindanao, according to the military on Monday.
Lt. Col. Jo-Al Herrera, spokesman of the 1st Infantry Division, said the Maute group suffered 36 deaths in sporadic fighting in Piagapo town, Lanao del Sur.
Three soldiers were also wounded in the clashes which started Friday and continued until Monday.
The forces also captured a camp with about 48 bunkers in Barangay Gacap where slain bodies, various war materials including bombs and Indonesian passports were discovered.
Herrera said soldiers assaulted the Daesh-linked lair, triggering a heavy exchange of fire with nearly 200 members of the local terror group.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command, told local reporters that the operation had been successful as they prevented the terrorists from plotting attacks and training.
He said intelligence reports indicated sightings of more than a dozen foreign militants, including Malaysians and Indonesians.
Authorities on Sunday placed the entire town, or 46 villages of Piagapo under a state of calamity after hundreds of families fled to safer grounds.
The Maute brothers -- Abdullah and Omar -- formed Khalifa Islamiyah Mindanao in 2012. They pledged to Daesh in April 2015 and vowed to support each other in fighting the government.