SHOOTOUT SITE. Police officers check the site where suspected terror bomber Abdul Rashid Lamalan was killed following a shootout with pursuing lawmen along the Isulan-Tacurong City section of the highway in Sultan Kudarat province on Nov. 26, 2020. Recovered at the scene were two improvised bombs, a fragmentation grenade, a .45-caliber pistol, and Lamalan’s motorbike. (Photo courtesy of Max FM 91.1 Tacurong)
COTABATO CITY – Police and military authorities in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) and Maguindanao are closely watching Dawlah Islamiya extremists involved in the Marawi siege and Jolo Cathedral bombing for possible retaliatory attacks in the region, security officials said Monday.
This came after state forces killed a suspected bomber during a running gun battle along the Isulan-Tacurong City highway in Sultan Kudarat province last week (Nov. 26), resulting in the death of Abdul Rashid Lamalan, allegedly a bomb expert of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
Police found beside the slain body of Lamalan a .45-caliber pistol, a laminated sack with rice to conceal two rifle grenades and a fragmentation grenade.
The Dawlah Islamiya, also known as the BIFF, operates in the 220,000-hectare Liguasan marshland situated in the borders of North Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat provinces.
Col. Roy Galido, Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade commander, said all Army units in the region are on high alert status following the death of Lamalan, who was linked to the 2019 Jolo Cathedral bombing.
Lt. Col. Romeo Galgo, police chief of Isulan, the capital of Sultan Kudarat, said all police units and quarantine checkpoints have also been placed on double red alert status.
“Army intelligence reports showed that Lamalan was linked to the Marawi siege and managed to escape along with other Abu Sayyaf terrorists,” Galido said.
Lamalan allegedly guided the Jolo Cathedral bombing perpetrators in January 2019 that left 28 people dead, including the two alleged Indonesian bombers, and more than 100 churchgoers and soldiers were injured. (PNA)
