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Dawlah Islamiya member yields in Lanao

By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.

October 15, 2019, 1:00 pm

SURRENDER. Saifoden Macaraya Maute, 36, a member of the ISIS-inspired Dawlah Islamiya, surrenders to military authorities Monday (Oct. 14, 2019) in Butig, Lanao del Sur. Westmincom chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said the series of surrenders involving DI militants is the positive result of their campaigns in the area. (Photo courtesy of Westmincom PIO)

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- A member of the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-inspired Dawlah Islamiya (DI) surrendered to government authorities in Lanao del Sur, officials said Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Roberto Ancan, Army’s 1st Infantry Division commander, identified the DI surrenderer as Saifoden Macaraya Maute, 36, of Barangay Tagoranao, Sultan Dumalondong, Lanao del Sur.

Ancan said Maute surrendered and turned over an M-79 grenade launcher and one 40-mm high explosive dual purpose around 10 a.m. Monday to the troops of the Army’s 49th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Poblacion Bayabao, Butig town.

He said Maute, who was recruited by DI sub-leader Mohammad Khayam Romato Maute, was involved in a firefight against the troops of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade in 2016.

Mohammad Khayam was killed during the five-month Marawi siege in 2017.

Ancan said Maliksaif Masheda of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Posts (MILF-JCMP) was instrumental in the surrender of Maute, who was placed under custodial debriefing.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, said the series of surrenders involving DI militants was the "positive result of our campaigns."

"We are more motivated to intensify our operations by employing the whole-of-nation approach because we do not want to destroy the trust the people have bestowed upon us,” Sobejana said. (PNA)

 

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