ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Two Dawlah Islamiyah members separately surrendered and turned over high-powered firearms to government authorities in Lanao del Sur, officials said Tuesday.
Col. Jose Maria Cuerpo, acting commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, identified the surrenderers as Satar Emmandatu and Aminudin Datu.
Cuerpo said Emmandatu surrendered to the Army’s 82nd Infantry Brigade on Sunday in Barangay Pawak, Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur. He turned over a .30-caliber M1 Garand, and two Armalite rifles with ammunition.
He recalled that it was Emmandatu who shot at the troops of the 55th Infantry Battalion on October 16 in Barangay Ngingir, Calanogas town. No one was hit.
Meanwhile, Datu surrendered around 2 p.m. Monday to the troops of the 82nd Infantry Battalion also in Barangay Pawak, Saguiaran, Cuerpo said.
Datu surrendered one Browning Automatic Rifle, one .45-caliber pistol, magazines, and ammunition.
Lt. Col. Rafman Altre, Army’s 82nd Infantry Battalion commander, said Datu was involved in the series of skirmishes in Marawi City and the towns of Gacap, Piagapo, Mantapoli, and Marantao, prior the Marawi siege in 2017.
Altre said that Datu also served as the guide of the local terrorist group in their atrocities in Barangay Paridi, Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.
Cuerpo attributed the surrender of Emmandatu and Datu to the efforts of local officials and residents.
“We will continuously collaborate with them to encourage other local terrorists to surrender and yield their loose firearms to attain a just and lasting peace to their communities,” Cuerpo said.
Maj. Gen. Roberto Ancan, the Army’s 1st Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Zampelan (the Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao Provinces) commander, lauded the troops and the local chief executives for the successful surrender of two Dawlah Islamiyah members.
“Your 1st Infantry Division, in collaboration with the LGUs (local government units) and other stakeholders, remains steadfast in our campaign against local terrorists and will continue to seize loose firearms in our area of operation,” Ancan said. (PNA)
